He practiced Talisman Making and his cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, night had fallen.
Lying in bed that night, Lü Zhong tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
The day's events had left him deeply shaken.
After a restless night, he finally saw the light of dawn.
'It's about time. I should get up.'
After the Five Spirits Sect took over the Workshop Market, Qingliu Square's original market days were reinstated. They were still held on the third and eighth day of every ten-day cycle.
Lü Zhong had a feeling that the Workshop Market would be especially crowded today.
This wasn't just a baseless guess; he had his reasons.
When the Qingyang Sect controlled Qingliu Square, the major merchants had a near-total monopoly on the market. As a result, many nearby Independent Cultivator Clans had no choice but to travel further afield. Now that the Workshop Market had changed hands and market days were back, they were very likely to return.
Today might just be the liveliest market day in Qingliu Square's history.
Before heading out, Lü Zhong checked his belongings one more time.
Thanks to the Qingyang Sect being driven out of Qingliu Square, he could finally carry his Golden Thread Storage Bag openly.
'I've got the square table for the stall, and the cloth to cover it... Ninety-four of the Seven Profound Arrow Avoidance Talismans I drew...'
Once he finished his inventory, Lü Zhong pushed the door open and went out.
The sky in the distance was just turning a pearly white. It was the most refreshing time of day.
On the blue-bricked road outside his small courtyard, numerous Loose Cultivators heading to the market were already gathering from all directions.
Some pushed heavy flatbed carts, some herded pigs and sheep they had raised, and others carried bundles of Talisman Grass on their backs, all heading toward the most prosperous commercial street in Qingliu Square.
After Qingliu Ruins was rebuilt into a Workshop Market, the number of commercial streets increased from one to two.
The new street ran north-south, intersecting with the original commercial street at the center.
The local cultivators usually referred to the streets by their cardinal directions: east, south, west, and north.
For instance, the place Lü Zhong currently lived was Ninghe Lane, near West Street.
Following the crowd, he soon arrived at West Street.
Most of the shops on the street hadn't opened yet, but the flow of people was already quite dense.
A few vendors selling breakfast had already lit their fires early, doing their best to make their food smell fragrant in hopes of attracting customers.
Lü Zhong stopped abruptly in front of a flatbread stall.
"How much for these?"
"Two vegetable ones for one talismanic coin, or one meat one for one talismanic coin. Which kind would you like, Immortal Master?" The stall owner was a mortal. Seeing that a cultivator was asking the price, he quickly bowed, a wide smile spreading across his face.
"I'll have two of the meat ones."
As he spoke, Lü Zhong counted out two talismanic coins.
"Right away! Please wait a moment."
The middle-aged vendor accepted the talismanic coins with both hands, thanking him profusely.
He deftly rolled up two meat flatbreads and, worried the Immortal Master might be dissatisfied, even added two extra-large scoops of meat sauce before handing them over.
Lü Zhong took the flatbreads, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face after one bite.
"This flatbread is pretty good!"
"Hahaha, it's not this humble one's boast, but in all of Qingliu Ruins—ah, no, Qingliu Square—my old master makes the best flatbreads. It's a family recipe, passed down through generations!" When it came to his craft, the vendor's face was filled with pride.
Just then, a Female Cultivator in a goose-yellow blouse and skirt ran over, a reproachful look on her face.
"Dad, why are you out here with the stall again?" The Female Cultivator seemed very unhappy, but she quickly hugged the vendor and said excitedly, "Dad, I have great news! The Five Spirits Sect has accepted me as an Outer Disciple! Our family won't have to make flatbreads anymore."
"R-Really?" The vendor looked on in disbelief, his cloudy eyes welling up with tears.
Watching from the side, Lü Zhong suddenly found that the flatbread in his hand had lost its flavor.
It was a heartwarming scene of a loving father and a devoted daughter, yet it left a sour taste in his heart.
This Female Cultivator looked no older than thirteen or fourteen, yet she had already been accepted as an Outer Disciple by the Five Spirits Sect. Her aptitude couldn't be poor.
In comparison, Lü Zhong's Four Spirit Roots seemed rather shabby.
'Shabby or not, at least I can practice cultivation!'
He took a vindictive bite of his flatbread and merged back into the crowd, continuing forward.
After a short while, a crossroads appeared before him.
This was supposed to be the most prosperous area in Qingliu Square, with magnificent pavilions lining the intersection.
Unfortunately, when control of the Workshop Market changed hands, many shops, including Xingwu Pavilion, were destroyed in the fighting.
Now, all that could be seen at the once-bustling crossroads was a field of rubble.
Lü Zhong wanted to set up his stall here; after all, the foot traffic was incredible.
But he looked around and saw no one else setting up a stall.
After walking a few steps, he saw a notice board. It turned out the Five Spirits Sect had forbidden setting up stalls here.
'No wonder,' Lü Zhong finally understood.
Since he couldn't set up at the crossroads, he had to choose another spot.
'I'll go to North Street. A lot of people enter the Workshop Market from there, so the Arrow Avoidance Talismans should sell well.'
Soon, his stall was set up.
Just as Lü Zhong had predicted, the crowd in Qingliu Square today was explosive.
Even after he raised the price to twelve talismanic coins, the Arrow Avoidance Talismans he had brought were snatched up in less than an ancient hour.
In total, he earned one thousand and ninety-two talismanic coins.
Seeing that the crowd on the street was still growing, Lü Zhong simply took out the miscellaneous items he had gotten from the three Evil Cultivators—things he originally planned to sell to a purchasing shop—and put them up for sale. To his surprise, they also sold out quickly.
That was another nearly six Spirit Stones' worth of business.
'Did I just run into some revenge spending? Ugh, if only I had more goods...' Lü Zhong thought, feeling a little dissatisfied.
He thought for a moment, then put out the spare set of Talisman-Making Tools.
Chen Dongyang's set of Talisman-Making Tools was much better than his original set, so the old tools had been sitting idle. This was the perfect opportunity to sell them.
Before long, he had another fifteen talismanic coins in hand.
Now Lü Zhong was finally out of stock and had no choice but to pack up his stall.
Seeing that it was still early, he decided to visit an Artifact Refining workshop to see if he could buy a new Magical Artifact.
Using a second-hand Magical Artifact was just too unsettling. If it suddenly failed during combat, wouldn't he be splattered on the spot?
The Artifact Refining workshops were located on East Main Street. This was close to the docks, making it convenient for transporting ore via the waterways.
Even before reaching the Artifact Refining workshop, he could smell the charcoal fire in the air.
Looking in the direction of the workshop, he could see a large chimney made of stone bricks. The smell of charcoal was wafting from it.
When he got closer, he saw an enormous building, over a hundred feet tall and covering an area of nearly a hundred mu.
Unlike the wooden buildings in the Workshop Market, this structure was built entirely of stone to prevent fires. Only the roof used some fire-resistant wood for its frame, which was then covered with tiles.
A large gate was set into the front of the building, wide enough for at least two horse-drawn carriages to pass through side-by-side. A large, solid wood plaque hung above the entrance, on which the three large words "Shengyi Artifact Refining Workshop" were written in powerful, gilded strokes.
The rhythmic sound of hammering iron came from within, one strike after another.
"Hello, fellow cultivator. Are you looking to order a custom Magical Artifact?" a female Receptionist greeted him with a smile.
The Receptionists at the Artifact Refining Workshop were noticeably friendlier than those in other shops, probably because none of their customers were poor.
"I am considering it."
Hearing this, the female Receptionist's smile deepened, revealing two small dimples. She beamed and said, "In that case, fellow cultivator, will you be providing your own materials for a commission, or would you like our workshop to handle both labor and materials?"
"What's the difference?" Lü Zhong asked.
"If you commission the work, you can skip the line for free and have it refined first, so you'll get your Magical Artifact quickly. Otherwise..."
The female Receptionist trailed off, her expression turning troubled. "You might not know this, fellow cultivator, but our orders for full-service refining are completely backed up. The masters in the workshop have a limited annual output, and we also have to wait for the refining materials to arrive. So if you wait for us to refine a Magical Artifact for you, it could take three to five years before you get it."
"What?" Lü Zhong was genuinely shocked.
Three to five years? By then, it would be far too late.
Seeing Lü Zhong's stunned expression, the female Receptionist didn't look scornful. Instead, she explained, "There's nothing to be done. We at Shengyi have been trying our best to increase production. Our output of Magical Artifacts shouldn't be this low, but there's been trouble at the Qingxi Spirit Iron Ore mine to the north. Right now, we can only rely on emergency ore shipments from Yanling Mountain."
According to the female Receptionist, this state of being overwhelmed with orders would continue until the Qingxi Spirit Iron Ore mine resumed operations.
Lü Zhong left the Shengyi Artifact Refining Workshop feeling dejected.
'Looks like I'll have to buy a second-hand one after all.'