Volume Two, Chapter Thirty-One: The Eccentric Old Joe Six

Meng Fang gave a mysterious smile and continued, “Very few people recognize this Ox Immortal Herb. It only grows in areas where Ox Spirit Grass congregates, and many people easily confuse the two. Only our clansmen and some specialized alchemists can tell them apart.”

“So, what is the Ox Immortal Herb used for?” Yu Mu asked.

Meng Fang motioned for Yu Mu to put away the Ox Immortal Herb before answering, “It’s a primary ingredient for refining Advancement Pills. But because this herb is so rare, people eventually replaced it with another plant, though the results are worlds apart.”

“Advancement Pills? Pills that let you level up instantly after taking them? That’s practically defying heaven!” Yu Mu exclaimed, utterly shocked.

Meng Fang laughed heartily. “It’s not as miraculous as it sounds. The Advancement Pill doesn’t truly help you advance directly. Rather, it’s used during breakthroughs to quickly stabilize your realm, preventing failure. It’s a spiritual medicine.”

“Ah! That’s so precious,” Yu Mu marveled, his eyes wide with wonder.

“That’s why I’m sure the seller didn’t know what this herb was. If he did, he’d never have put it up for sale here. I was worried that buying it outright would arouse suspicion, so I purposely haggled, just to quietly buy it without attracting attention.”

“Oh!” At this point, Yu Mu suddenly recalled something and asked, “Hey, Brother Meng, do you think that person in the black veil earlier also recognized this herb?”

Meng Fang’s expression changed dramatically. After pondering for a moment, he said in a low voice, “That’s unlikely. If she had recognized it, why would she so easily give up?”

Though he spoke this way, Meng Fang’s face was now grave.

“Mm, your analysis makes sense, Brother Meng. I was overthinking it. Hey, look over there!” Yu Mu’s excited cry snapped Meng Fang out of his worried thoughts. Following Yu Mu’s pointing finger, he saw, in a corner even more secluded than the herb stall, a booth selling Daoist arts.

The value of Daoist arts was self-evident. Because of their rarity, anyone with a decent technique would never part with it. Daoist arts were the foundation for cultivating into saints, and the pillar of one’s livelihood. Handing your own Daoist art to someone else was tantamount to exposing your lifeblood. Thus, the arts found in trading venues were mostly abandoned or unused by others—either seriously flawed or utterly worthless.

Seeing Yu Mu’s excitement, Meng Fang didn’t dampen his spirits. “Alright, let’s go have a look.”

“Hey, wake up! Business!” The two approached the stall, and Yu Mu roused the vendor, who was sleeping like a dead pig.

“Ugh, don’t bother me, let me sleep a bit longer. Business!” The vendor scrambled up, swiftly wiped the drool from his mouth, and switched to a fawning grin. “Welcome, welcome! My humble stall has everything from the Great Sage’s Dao to the smallest techniques of cultivation. Whatever you want, I have it. Hahaha…”

The two couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

The man before them looked to be around fifty, a shriveled old fellow, probably no more than half a pound of flesh on his bones. He sported a goatee, and his small eyes darted cunningly about. He was clearly a shrewd sort, now putting on a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, chattering away as he introduced his wares.

“Hey, shopkeeper—”

Before Yu Mu could finish, the goatee man grovelled, “Don’t call me shopkeeper, you two are the real masters. I’m just Old Qiao Six; you can call me Old Qiao.”

“Old Qiao, do you have any decent Daoist arts? Introduce me to a few.”

“Certainly, my lord. What kind of Daoist art are you looking for?”

Yu Mu paused to think. His greatest weakness was speed. Brother Meng had mentioned that those with high defenses are usually slow, especially monsters who aren’t adept at controlling magical tools, so he’d have to rely on Daoist arts to solve this.

“Tell me about some arts related to speed.”

“Absolutely!” Old Qiao bent over, scooped up a stack of books, and spread them across the counter. “Please take a look, my lord. These are all peerless secrets, never before passed on!”

The two looked through the books and couldn’t help but smile wryly. All the books were wrinkled, as if dug up from the ground, and each bore signs of damage, as if gnawed by mice.

Yu Mu laughed loudly. “Did you deliberately make these look old? And if they’re really secret arts, how did they end up in your hands?” He picked up the thickest book and began to flip through it.

Slightly embarrassed, Old Qiao immediately put on a look of admiration when he saw which book Yu Mu had chosen. “My lord, you have a keen eye. This ‘Great Art of Spatial Teleportation’ was left behind by two immortals from the lower realm. Once mastered, you’ll be able to fly and burrow at will. Since it’s your first time at my stall, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount—only one hundred high-grade spirit crystals! It’s a clearance sale, I swear!”

“How much? One hundred high-grade spirit crystals!” Even Meng Fang was startled by the price.

“Hey, don’t rush, my lord. If you truly like it, fifty is fine… or thirty? Twenty, at the lowest. Any less and I can’t sell it. Surely you wouldn’t let me lose everything? I have elders above and youngsters below, all waiting for me to provide…”

Watching this sly old fox pretend to be pitiful, Yu Mu couldn’t help but laugh, “This so-called Great Art of Spatial Teleportation isn’t worth a single coin. Did you make it up yourself to cheat people?”

Curious, Meng Fang took the book from Yu Mu and flipped through it, only to be amused and infuriated.

The summary claimed it could do anything—fly, burrow, nothing impossible. It even said it was created by some Immortal Lord of the Immortal Realm; it was absurd beyond belief. No wonder Yu Mu suspected it was fabricated.

“My lord, you jest. How could I make this up? It truly was written by an immortal from the Immortal Realm. If you don’t believe me, look at the original manuscript. I could never invent something so profound.”

Yu Mu took the thicker book offered by Old Qiao, opened it, and said, “You’re right, you couldn’t have made this yourself. If you had such talent, you wouldn’t be here scamming people.”

The cultivation methods recorded in the Great Art of Spatial Teleportation were convoluted and nearly incomprehensible. Especially the incantation section, Yu Mu could only understand a few sentences; the rest seemed like celestial script, utterly baffling.

The book was over a hundred pages thick. Even if he tried to memorize it, it would take more than a decade, let alone actually cultivating it.

More absurdly, some of the methods inside blatantly violated the basic principles of Daoist cultivation. It was impossible to succeed.

After reading the original manuscript, Yu Mu was even more convinced that the old man before him was a swindler—indeed, a master con artist.