Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 251: Chapter 172 Market District

Li Shiming saw several stalls selling elixir pills, which was also a rare sight on Sky Sea Island.

On Sky Sea Island, alchemy rarely occurred among Loose Cultivators; even if some delved into alchemy, they could only produce the most basic elixir pills.

The real elixirs for Qi Refining Mid and Later Stage Cultivators often required sea beast inner cores as ingredients, which were beyond Loose Cultivators’ reach.

Yet here, he had seen elixirs for sale that Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivators could consume, openly displayed on the stalls.

Li Shiming passed the first fixed shop, which sold magic artifacts; he did not enter but used his Spiritual Thought to scan the interior and saw everything clearly.

The artifacts in the shop were complete, ranging from low-grade to top-grade, all clearly priced on the first floor.

Every artifact was accompanied by a scroll depicting the artifact’s shape and size and providing descriptions below; nothing was hidden, and the selling price in spirit stones was also marked.

Clearly laid out, this also deterred Cultivators who didn’t have enough spirit stones from attempting to haggle.

Upon assessing the value of the artifacts, he had only one thought: ‘expensive’. The prices for all artifacts were 30% higher than on Sky Sea Island, especially top-grade magic tools, which were more than double.

Having passed several shops, Li Shiming’s understanding of the Cultivation World of Beishu deepened.

Perhaps due to the greater resources and larger number of cultivators in Beishu, resources here were more abundant than on Sky Sea Island, but it was precisely because of the large number of cultivators that competition for resources was fiercer.

This caused the value of magic artifacts to be inflated, as having more powerful artifacts could give one a voice in the competition.

On the other hand, resources for cultivation like elixir pills were relatively cheaper, allowing cultivators an easier path to cultivation.

On Sky Sea Island, only those with sufficient talent were permitted to join major sects, while minor sects had slightly lower requirements for talent. However, those with spirit root seeds like the five elements were only recruited by minor sects on Sky Sea Island to perform menial tasks, with virtually no opportunity for cultivation.

But in Beishu, as long as one had the talent, there was a possibility for cultivation.

Those with poor aptitude were not accepted by the major sects, but many minor sects and cultivation forces would take in children with spirit roots.

No matter how poor the spirit root was, with the supply of elixirs, becoming an Early-stage Qi Refining Cultivator was not an issue.

Once at the Early-stage Qi Refining, they could earn spirit stones for the force through secondary professions, mining, and other means.

In areas rich in Spiritual Energy, ordinary humans could not live for long; physical labor like mining was done by cultivators.

Li Shiming, drawing comparisons, walked into a bookstore.

An old man at the Qi Refining Fifth Level glanced at him from the store, said nothing, and returned his gaze to the book he was holding.

All the books were displayed with their covers facing outward on the shelves behind the counter, each accompanied by a brief introduction and price tag.

Cultivation Techniques for the Qi Refinement Realm, spells, entry-level skills for various professions, and even written experiences of cultivators themselves sprawled across the shelves. If Li Shiming did not know this was a bookstore, he would have thought he’d stepped into a sect’s Hidden Technique Pavilion.

What surprised him the most was at the center position, where a few Jade Scrolls were placed, and the descriptions below indicated they were Foundation Establishment Stage Skills.

Good heavens, Foundation Establishment Stage Skills were so casually displayed for cultivators to purchase.

However, it was clear that those available here would not be of the highest quality, but they provided Loose Cultivators with hope, as long as they acquired one Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivation Technique.

Li Shiming found what he wanted—a booklet map, priced at seventy spirit stones.

He could afford seventy spirit stones, but the high cost in Beishu still struck him—the same booklet map on Sky Sea Island would not exceed seven spirit stones at most.

“I’ll take this one!” Li Shiming took out seventy spirit stones and pointed to the booklet map.

“This is a map perfected by our clan’s travelling cultivators, covering up to ten thousand miles,” the old cultivator said, conveying a look that said ‘you know your stuff,’ as he handed over the booklet.

After paying the spirit stones, Li Shiming received the booklet.

The map was comprehensive, detailing not only geographical features but also the power distribution of various forces and the locations of marketplaces.

Crucially, this map was geared towards Qi Refining cultivators, with dangerous areas beyond their realm clearly marked with warnings.

Li Shiming nodded, storing the map away.

Just as he was about to leave the bookstore, he suddenly heard a thunderous roar outside; it seemed even the marketplace’s ground began to shake and tremble.

His expression changed as the Array Formation Starlight Sea picked up intense fluctuations in the formation; this was caused by an attack on the market’s external formation.

Some cultivators were forcefully attacking the marketplace’s formation, and their strength had to be beyond the Qi Refinement Realm to cause such a disturbance.

“Do not act rashly, the Wei Family cultivators will take care of everything!” The old cultivator was also startled, and he watched Li Shiming warily as he issued his warning.

It seemed the old cultivator was worried Li Shiming might take advantage of the chaos, given that Li Shiming’s cultivation was much stronger than his.

Li Shiming did not say more and left the shop, which the old cultivator quickly shut behind him.

The marketplace had descended into chaos, with shops closing, and patrons and stallholders running; some headed towards the exits, others towards the Wei Family’s residence, hoping to find safety there.