Lu Qian descended from the stage, his expression complicated as Tan Hong and Zhang Lemei stood nearby. Just as he was about to speak, the referee behind him shouted, "Fellow Daoist, please wait!"
He turned around to see the referee jogging over, directing a mortal servant to bring a small storage pouch: "Fellow Daoist, here are five hundred spirit stones."
Lu Qian was somewhat surprised, and then listened as the referee explained, "We do not involve ourselves in personal vendettas with the arena host. As long as the challenger wins the arena, they can receive five hundred spirit stones. This is the marketplace's rule, which cannot be violated. Please kindly accept."
Lu Qian nodded and accepted the spirit stones. The referee smiled, clasped his hands, and turned away.
Lu Qian turned around again and handed the spirit stones to Tan Hong.
"Senior Brother Tan, you were injured and humiliated for our sect, these spirit stones rightfully belong to you."
Tan Hong was stunned and was about to decline, but Zhang Lemei snorted angrily, snatching the spirit stones: "If Old Tan hadn't fought him first, you'd never have had such good luck to win. They're rightfully ours to begin with! Don't think these few hundred spirit stones can buy us over."
"Senior Sister Zhang!" Jiang Qingfeng hurriedly pulled her aside, "There are many people here, be cautious in speaking!"
Zhang Lemei snorted, "You just side with him, I really don't know what kind of spell he's cast on you…"
Lu Qian shook his head helplessly, then whispered, "Senior Brother and Sister, although we avenged ourselves, it has drawn much attention. We cannot stay here, we must leave quickly!"
Feeling the gazes of surrounding cultivators, Tan Hong also nodded in agreement. Lu Qian then requested Qingfeng Baitao and Tan Hong and Zhang Lemei to head to the marketplace exit first, while he hurriedly bought some elixirs and tidied up, and would soon join them.
Acting separately, Lu Qian had made calculations in his heart. It seemed that Tan Hong and his wife harbored deep prejudices against him, especially Zhang Lemei, who was inherently narrow-minded. It would take more than a brief moment to dissipate those negative impressions.
Jiang Qingfeng had some connections with them, so he let Qingfeng accompany them first. During casual conversations, they would surely exchange some information to see if a method of easing tensions could be found.
In less than an incense stick's time, Lu Qian hurriedly bought two hundred spirit stones' worth of elixirs and talismans, including those for healing injuries, detoxification, miasma avoidance, and cultivation assistance.
Since the True Immortal Calamity, the cultivation realm has developed for twenty thousand years, and consumables like elixirs and talismans have become uniform. The grade of elixirs directly aligns with the cultivator's level, such as Qi Cultivation Stage elixirs, Foundation Establishment Stage elixirs, Golden Core Stage elixirs, etc.
Each grade of elixir, after years of selection and optimization, has become basically fixed in variety. For instance, Qi Cultivation Stage elixirs include the Rejuvenation Pill for healing, the Purple Qi Pill for cultivation assistance, and Clear Spirit Dew for avoiding obstacles...
Each grade of elixirs is also divided into low, medium, and high tiers based on their quality after being crafted.
Of course, these are the common goods circulating in the market; those renowned sects with deep inheritance often possess their own unique pill formulas, which are rarely divulged.
The effects of talismans are various, covering all aspects of a cultivator's battle and life. They range from the most ordinary combat talismans like Fireball and Ice Arrow to utility ones like the Vortex Talisman for cleaning, the Warrior Talisman for construction, and the Communication Talisman for transmitting information.
Once crafted, talismans require minimal spiritual power to activate their mighty power, making them quite convenient and fast. However, there is one disadvantage: their flight speed is slow, making direct attacks easily avoidable. Therefore, they are usually used for ambushes or testing. Cultivators who focus on talisman attacks will cover targets with a large number of talismans, or combine them with techniques that restrict the enemy's movement.
Similar to elixirs, talismans are classified into low, medium, and high tiers based on their quality after creation.
Lu Qian packed everything and reached the archway of the marketplace gate, finding Qingfeng Baitao and Tan Hong and his wife chatting and laughing, thus relieved.
He quickly called over, "Senior Brother and Sister, all tasks are done, let's prepare to set off. I have already bought maps for the counties around us. Our next step is to head to Songling Marketplace, hide from public view, and then make further plans. What do you think?"
Qingfeng naturally agreed, while Zhang Lemei seemed to want to say something, but was held back by Tan Hong. Lu Qian pretended not to notice, raised his hand to release the White Jade Flying Ship, performed spells, and the ship rapidly expanded. He extended his hand with a smile: "Senior Brother and Sister, please."
They boarded the ship together, which gracefully ascended, trembled once, and flew out of the Illusion Array that concealed the marketplace, breaking the sky and away.
Just a tea's time after departure, silver light flickered below the archway, and a white-clad cultivator appeared. The surrounding cultivators instantly felt a surge of spiritual pressure, their hearts racing, and hurriedly bowed.
This was a Foundation Establishment Feather Scholar arriving!
A few more breaths passed as a group of cultivators, along with several stewards from the marketplace and the former arena referee, appeared under the archway, looking around. They saw the sky like a dome, azure and washed clean, with no traces of anyone, and sighed.
The referee respectfully said, "Martial Uncle, it seems that person has left."
The white-clad cultivator casually glanced around and nodded, "Then let it be. I had intended to see which sect he belonged to, having cultivated such divine sense, and perhaps make friends. Since he's gone now, let him be."
He turned his head, "I've just received a communication that the Wang Family of neighboring Quyang County and Ziluo Mountain have formed a brotherly alliance and jointly placed a bounty on someone named Lu Qian, a mid-stage Qi cultivation cultivator. No idea how this guy offended those two old dogs. Anyway, the bounty is set at ten thousand spirit stones, worth noting. Try to find out the details of this affair to discover if there's any profound mechanism involved. Here's the portrait of Lu Qian."
After speaking, his figure flickered, and the white-clad cultivator disappeared.
The marketplace crowd whispered amongst themselves, before the steward ordered, "Immediately post this person's portrait on the marketplace bulletin board. As per the rule, twenty percent of the bounty will be taken as commission, so inform passing cultivators that capturing Lu Qian and handing him over to the marketplace will yield a reward of eight thousand spirit stones. But be warned, do not search or take action inside the marketplace; if anyone violates the marketplace rules for profit, severe consequences will follow!"
Nearby disciples bowed and accepted orders.
Meanwhile, within the flying ship, the atmosphere was somewhat odd. Lu Qian was at the ship's prow, investing spirit stones into the flying array to control the direction, while Tan Hong and Zhang Lemei sat at the rear, separated by Qingfeng Baitao.
Baitao was initially quite excited; this ship was much larger than the previous flying artifact, and it was even equipped with a simple barrier array, preventing the wind from rushing into the ship, and it flew higher.
She leaned over the ship's edge, looking down at the forest and trees below, sliding slowly by. Occasionally passing through mortal villages and towns, people gathered like ants, some even noticing the flying ship above and hastily kneeling down.
She giggled, reaching out as if to capture these scenes, and chatted incessantly with her sister. But Qingfeng wasn't in the mood, so only her voice echoed in the ship. After speaking a few sentences, she too sensed the awkward atmosphere and snuggled into her sister's embrace, ceasing her chatter.
Qingfeng attempted to start a conversation several times, but Tan Hong and his wife did not engage, causing the atmosphere within the flying ship to grow increasingly heavy.