Wu De turned around to look and immediately showed a joyful expression. "That should be it, let's go, down!"
As he spoke, he rushed to the depression in two or three steps, slapped down with his palm again, and immediately revealed a black hole about two feet in diameter in front of him, then impatiently slid inside.
Lu Li thought to himself that this old fellow was running so fast probably to take everything for himself, and quickly followed.
Slipping into the hole, Lu Li suddenly felt like he stepped on something. Just as he was wondering why the passage was so shallow, Wu De's plaintive voice came from below, "Kid, you stepped on my head!"
"Ah? Sorry, sorry, why are you running so slowly?"
"What's the rush? This passage is very steep. If you're not careful when you fall down, your butt will split in two." Wu De, walking in front, moved down carefully like a spider, using both hands and feet to support himself against the cave wall.
On the contrary, Lu Li, walking behind without any scruples, accidentally slid down a few steps and kicked Wu De in the head, causing Wu De to curse and grumble.
About a quarter of an hour later.
With two thuds, the two finally landed on solid ground.
Only then did Lu Li discover that there was actually a river beside him. The river wasn't very wide, but the water flowed rapidly. Cold air rose above the river surface, accompanied by a gust of cool wind. Although Lu Li was a cultivator, he still found this cold wind somewhat piercing.
Along the cliff wall by the river was a path that could hardly be called a path. The two were now standing by the cliff wall, with the steep hole they just slid down directly above their heads.
After only a brief pause, Wu De hurriedly walked forward along the cliff wall.
Lu Li knew that the Soul-Calming Flower Wu De mentioned must be ahead and quickly followed with swift steps.
Not long after walking, the cliff wall beside him disappeared, replaced by an open space. The black soil on the ground was also emitting a sizzling cold air, just like opening a refrigerator on a June day.
Many unknown weeds grew on the black soil, but the sharp-eyed Lu Li spotted an unusual object in the weeds to the right front.
The thing was two feet tall, with black-gray stems, leafless and single-flowered. Both petals and stamens were pale gray, inconspicuous among the similarly black-gray weeds. Lu Li ran over without hesitation.
Because this thing was exactly the Soul-Calming Flower he was looking for.
Wu De also seemed to have discovered the Soul-Calming Flower's existence and ran toward the other side.
Lu Li ran to the front of the Soul-Calming Flower and examined it, discovering that this Soul-Calming Flower was actually infinitely close to fourth rank, with a full seven hundred spirit patterns. After a moment of thought, he pulled it up by the roots and threw it into the medicinal garden.
Then he released his Divine Sense and began searching around.
To Lu Li's delight, there really were many Soul-Calming Flowers in this space. In just half a quarter of an hour, he found more than fifty. Although some weren't even first rank, Lu Li wasn't prepared to let them go, pulling them all up by the roots.
Wu De on the other side, however, only picked the flowers. Seeing this, he walked over and frowned, saying, "Kid Qin, isn't just picking the flowers good enough? If you don't leave a path for later generations like this, you'll probably incur heavenly punishment."
Lu Li glanced at the flower in the other's hand, then looked at the bare stems left not far behind Wu De, directly sidestepped and walked over to pull them up by the roots. "You don't want them, I do."
"You!" Wu De was so angry he blew his beard and glared. "Can't you be human? Listen to my advice, these things can't survive away from here. Don't do such foolish things. The way of heaven has its cycles, be careful of retribution!"
"Retribution? If heaven gives something and you don't take it, that's when you incur retribution. You old man don't understand, don't get in my way, go find your Soul-Calming Flowers."
As Lu Li spoke, he couldn't help but sneer inwardly, thinking that if the old man could actually cultivate this thing alive, he'd probably snatch it faster than a dog and wouldn't care about retribution at all.
About half an hour later.
The two finally swept through this entire space. Lu Li harvested a full ninety Soul-Calming Flowers with stems. The remaining ninety-five had no flowers, only stems left behind after Wu De's sweep.
One hundred eighty-five in total, quite a bountiful harvest.
After packing up everything, the two climbed out of the underground space.
Wu De then proposed leaving immediately to find a market to exchange everything obtained from this Great Marsh trip for True Essence Pills. Lu Li naturally had no objections, and moreover, he always felt the air inside this Great Marsh wasn't very good, making him somewhat uncomfortable.
As they walked, the two discussed. Considering that their previous encounter outside Dihu Town market might lead to revenge, they finally decided to go to the Jinyang Cultivator Market in the central part of Eastern Province.
Lu Li didn't know about Jinyang Cultivator Market either, but Wu De, being an old fox, presumably considered things more comprehensively, so he went along with it.
What he didn't expect was that this journey would take a full month.
At noon on this day.
The two finally arrived at a misty valley in the central part of Eastern Province. Just like Dihu Town market, this mist was an illusionary technique, and the two walked in easily.
Entering and looking around, Lu Li discovered this Jinyang Cultivator Market was considerably larger than Dihu Town market. Not to mention anything else, the streets were a full three zhang wide, and many ramps extended out. The streets were also bustling with people coming and going, quite lively.
Lu Li asked curiously, "Old man, are the buildings inside these markets built by rogue cultivators themselves?"
Wu De said, "Of course not. Every market has forces behind it. Otherwise, who would dare sell things here? They'd immediately be robbed clean."
"Forces? What kind of forces?"
"All kinds. There are sect forces and rogue cultivator forces."
"Sect forces? What do they build markets for? Is it to make things convenient for rogue cultivators?"
"Hah, of course it's for various resources. After building the market, they tax the operators inside. At the same time, they can also be the first to benefit and purchase some urgently needed sect supplies at low prices. In short... without background and strength, wanting to build a market is extremely difficult."
"So that's how it is." Lu Li finally understood the origin of these markets. As he walked, he asked, "Then which force does this Jinyang Cultivator Market belong to?"
Wu De shook his head. "How would I know? Generally, markets have market lord mansions. Those aren't places ordinary people can enter. Even if you get in, unless you're an insider, they won't easily tell you who stands behind them. Otherwise... if targeted by hostile forces, wouldn't they be destroyed in an instant."
As they spoke, an extremely luxurious five-story pavilion appeared before their eyes.
Looking from afar, Lu Li only felt this pavilion looked very familiar. Upon closer inspection, it was actually the Myriad Treasure Pavilion. His heart was both delighted and surprised.
He was delighted because he happened to be looking for Myriad Treasure Pavilion to purchase Buddha-Heart Fruit.
He was surprised because this Myriad Treasure Pavilion actually had so many shops. From Dihu Town to here, he had already seen three Myriad Treasure Pavilion shops. From this perspective, this merchant house's strength was truly remarkable.
Wu De stopped from afar and discussed with Lu Li, "How about we sell the snake gallbladders and Great Marsh Centipede in our hands together later? That way, with larger quantity, it's better to negotiate prices."
Lu Li certainly had no objections and nodded. "Big brother, you decide."
Subsequently, the two walked toward Myriad Treasure Pavilion.