Life as a Rogue Cultivator

As soon as they stepped into Lu’s Alchemy House of Tianmu Mountain, a shophand came up with a smile. “Here to look at spirit pills, honored guests? This way, please.”

What kind of pills a person asked for usually said a lot about them: what kind of injuries they’d suffered, what bottleneck they’d hit in cultivation, even what they were planning or hoping to do next...

And if someone came to sell pill ingredients instead, that too revealed plenty: where they’d been, what they’d encountered, maybe even what they’d just done.

That’s why all business here was done in private rooms. No one wanted random bystanders overhearing their secrets.

Lu’s Alchemy House had eight such rooms. Liu Xiaolou and Fang Bu’ai were led into the second one on the left. The door shut behind them, and in an instant, the clamor of the marketplace outside faded away, leaving only a deep, almost uncanny quiet.

The shophand handed over a booklet. Inside were listings for a dozen different spirit pills, each with detailed notes on their effects. Most of them were aimed at assisting cultivation. No surprise, since Tianmu Mountain was known as one of the great sects of alchemy, and these were their specialties.

Liu Xiaolou flipped through it briefly but didn’t spot any Foundation Establishment Pills, so he lost interest fast. Closing the booklet, he asked, “Do you buy alchemy materials here?”

“Of course!” replied the shophand eagerly. “What kind of materials do you have, honored guest?”

Liu Xiaolou gave Fang Bu’ai a nod. Fang lifted the cover off his basket and started taking things out one by one, laying them neatly across the table. From their last job at Fenglin Manor, the two had split eighteen materials between them. Enough to cover the entire tabletop.

The shophand’s eyes widened. “Please wait a moment,” he said quickly. “I’ll fetch the steward.”

Not long after, a steward knocked and stepped in. He bowed politely, then began inspecting each material in turn. When he’d finished, he looked up. “And what would you like in exchange, honored guests?”

“Spirit stones,” Liu Xiaolou said matter-of-factly.

The steward nodded. “And how many are you looking for?”

“That depends,” Liu Xiaolou replied. “Do you take all kinds of materials?”

“We do,” the steward said with a smile.

Of course they did. These materials were exactly the kinds Tianmu Mountain used for refining pills. Fenglin Manor had prepared them according to the sect’s own needs. Other alchemy houses might be picky, but at Lu’s Alchemy House, every single item on the table was something they wanted.

Liu Xiaolou went straight to the point. “Twenty stones for the lot.”

It was a high offer, sure, but not outrageous. Just enough above market price to show he knew what he was talking about.

The steward named a fair price. Reasonable enough, since these were materials Tianmu Mountain genuinely needed.

A bit of back-and-forth later, they settled on fourteen spirit stones for the deal.

Selling stolen goods back to the people they were stolen from, now that was a satisfying kind of irony. Too bad they couldn’t say it out loud; all they could do was enjoy the quiet thrill of it.

As they stepped out of Lu’s Alchemy House, Fang Bu’ai burst out laughing.

Liu Xiaolou gave him a sideways look. “Happy about something?”

“Of course I’m happy,” Fang grinned. “If every deal went like this, I’d call it a good life.”

Liu Xiaolou nodded toward a teahouse across the street. “Good. Then for the next few days, you’ll stay up there. Keep an eye on Lu’s Alchemy House. Note who comes and goes, what they’re carrying. And while you’re at it, listen around. See what kind of talk’s floating through the teahouse.”

Fang Bu’ai instantly perked up. “Got it, Big Brother!”

Liu Xiaolou gave him a warning. “This isn’t the time to act rashly. Just watch carefully, remember what you see and don’t ask too many questions. You never know, while you’re trying to get information out of someone, they might be doing the same to you. Tianmu Mountain has had a shop here for who knows how many years. Maybe the teahouse owner and his workers are all on their payroll. If you show even the slightest hint of what you’re up to, they’ll see right through you. Got that?”

Fang Bu’ai blinked and nodded. “Yeah, got it…”

Liu Xiaolou watched him go inside, order some tea, and sit down to sip it slowly. Then he turned away and continued his stroll. It wasn’t often he came to the Chicheng Mountain marketplace. He had to check out the shops selling formation disks, get a feel for the prices. Otherwise, how could he call himself a formation master?

After wandering around for an hour, he finally spotted a store selling formation disk materials. The stuff looked a lot like the materials used for alchemy or crafting magical tools. At least to an outsider. But to someone who knew their trade, the differences were obvious.

Liu Xiaolou could be considered a bit of an expert by now. He started from the most basic metals and stones, browsing shop after shop, completely absorbed in what he saw. Cross-referencing everything with the notes in The The Thousandfold Formulas Manual, he felt he was learning a lot.

By the time evening came, he’d only managed to visit a dozen stores. Though he wasn’t quite ready to stop, he eventually headed back to the teahouse across from Lu’s Alchemy House and called Fang Bu’ai out for dinner. This time, they chose a restaurant run by the Weiyu Soaring Crane Sect,.

As soon as they sat down and opened the menu, the two, who had both started to think of themselves as somewhat well-off, were instantly humbled. They exchanged awkward looks over the prices.

The waiter came over enthusiastically. “May I recommend our sweet and sour fish? It’s made from Golden-Whiskered Dragon Carp, a specialty of our Weiyu Grotto Heaven. Not only does it taste excellent, but it also strengthens spiritual energy and helps absorb true qi faster. You’ll know once you try it.”

Of course, Liu Xiaolou knew exactly how good golden-whiskered dragon carp was. Back when he was with the Su family, Sushu used to cook it for him all the time. He just hadn’t expected it to cost this much here in the Chicheng Mountain market.

A single golden-whiskered dragon carp, barely three pounds, cost fifty taels of silver once cooked and served!

Add a few more dishes, and before they’d even feel full, they’d be out nearly two hundred taels.

Seeing Fang Bu’ai glance at him uncertainly, Liu Xiaolou cleared his throat. “What’s wrong? Go on, order something… wait, where’s your peachwood sword?”

Fang Bu’ai blinked. “Huh?”

Liu Xiaolou’s tone sharpened. “We just spent ten spirit stones on that thing! Don’t tell me you left it behind at the shop?”

Fang Bu’ai scratched the back of his head. “Ah… crap, Big Brother... I forgot to grab it.”

Liu Xiaolou scolded, “Seriously! How can you be so scatterbrained? What do you even think about all day?”

He grabbed Fang Bu’ai and stood up. “Come on, let’s go back and look for it!”

The two of them hurried away from the table, leaving behind the waiter’s contemptuous glare. “Yeah right... no money, just say so. Who are they fooling? I’ve seen that act plenty of times. Three, five times a month at least.”

They switched to another restaurant that looked less fancy. This time, when they opened the menu, they felt more at ease. Even though the meal still cost fifty taels of silver, it somehow felt like a great deal. At least they’d saved a hundred! Get full chapters from novel fire.net

After eating, they summed it up neatly: Tianfu Record really was the best bang for their money.

They checked into an inn for the night. Five taels for a room. Still expensive, but somehow their sense of what counted as “spending too much” had gone up, so it didn’t feel so pricey anymore.

The next morning, Fang Bu’ai went back to sipping tea and keeping watch, while Liu Xiaolou continued wandering through the markets for formation materials. Three days later, after checking out dozens of shops, they had finally seen them all.

When Liu Xiaolou looked up again, he found himself standing in front of a shop specializing in formation disks -- Siming Mountain Formations.

The sign struck a chord with Liu Xiaolou. A figure flashed through his mind, and almost without thinking, he walked right in.

There weren’t many customers in the shop, which made sense. Ready-made formation disks were expensive, starting at dozens of spirit stones each. As for the complex, large-scale mountain-guarding formations, those required private consultations. Naturally, most people couldn’t even get past the threshold.

Only five formation disks were displayed in the main hall, each placed carefully on its own table. A thin red cord marked the boundary around them, clearly warning “Do not touch.” Five attendants stood watch, one by each display. Their eyes sharp and alert as Liu Xiaolou stepped in.

One of them came forward, his voice polite but firm. “Honored guest, please remove your bamboo hat. We don’t allow hats or veils inside the store. I hope you understand.”