As soon as he stepped out of the wooden cabin, he noticed that most of the neighboring residents were casting gloating glances his way, their eyes filled with pity and disdain.
He strode out of the alley, acting as though he didn't notice the surrounding gazes at all.
Such treatment might have been unbearable for the original owner, who had always lived under the shelter of his Master. But for an old hand like him, who had spent the better part of his life struggling and surviving in the previous world, it was entirely dismissive.
Of course, before leaving, he didn't forget to tear down the notice on the door; that thing could still be useful.
Once he walked past the alley corner and was completely out of sight, the neighbors immediately started gossiping about him.
"This kid is truly pitiful. After today, he'll be driven out of the market town. I wonder how his Master will feel when he returns?"
"Tsk tsk, you really like to worry about things that are none of your business. Do you actually think his Master is going to come looking for you for the person when he comes back? With this idle time, you'd better worry about ourselves instead!"
"What's wrong with us? Aren't we living here just fine?"
"Fine my ass, our rent is about to expire too. If you still don't think of a way out, are you planning to have me and Song'er follow you outside the market town to live that terrified, precarious life?"
The above was a conversation between a couple living in this alley, starting with Xu Feng and ultimately shifting back to themselves.
"I don't know if it's my imagination, but I always feel like this kid has changed a lot after not seeing him for a few months."
Another person, who had just noticed a change in Xu Feng's demeanor, asked the cultivator in the neighboring room with some doubt.
"Aren't you talking nonsense? Having just recovered from a serious illness, of course he looks a bit different! But who knows what he's going out to do right now? Could it be that he's leaving the market town early?"
"Who knows, maybe Master Liu left some instructions before he left, telling him to go to the inner district to find someone to cash out spirit stones for the rent." Another person guessed.
"You're talking nonsense now. If his Master had stepped in personally, I might believe that, relying on an Amulet Master's reputation, he could borrow a year's rent. But now his Master has been missing for months; who do you think would lend over a hundred spirit stones to someone who might never pay it back? Who could be that stupid?"
Xu Feng naturally didn't hear these discussions. By this time, he had already walked along the lane and reached the main thoroughfare, which was the mandatory route leading to the inner district of the market town.
Things were much livelier here. On both sides of the street, quite a few rogue cultivators were setting up stalls. There were no shops here; it was entirely a free trading area, and as he passed through, a continuous stream of shouting and hawking echoed in his ears.
"Come and take a look! Fresh monster meat, just caught from the monster forest and butchered on the spot—one spirit stone per catty!"
"Discount promotion today, buy one spiritual item and get one free at the stall! Don't miss out as you pass by!"
"A remnant volume of a Golden Core cultivation manual! A high-grade manual that can be practiced all the way to the Qi Refining Peak, absorbing spiritual energy faster than ordinary manuals! Fellow Daoists, come take a look, the price is not expensive, only fifty spirit stones!"
"Freshly picked spiritual medicine, most suitable for alchemy! Fellow Daoists, have a look!"
"Rank 1 talismans of every kind! Fellow Daoist, what do you need? I'll fetch it for you to see."
Finally, Xu Feng stopped in front of a stall selling talismans, bending down to carefully examine the items on display. Noticing a customer had arrived, the stall owner warmly greeted him.
"Fellow Daoist, how much are these transmission talismans sold for?"
At first, he didn't directly ask about the prices of the minor fireball talisman and the ice sword talisman, but instead inquired about the other talismans at the stall.
"How many does the Fellow Daoist need?"
"How much for ten?"
"For ten, Fellow Daoist, just give me thirty spirit stones."
"No way, that's much too expensive. How about fifteen spirit stones?"
"Haha, Fellow Daoist, you'd better go look at something else then. This price really doesn't cut it!"
Hearing Xu Feng haggle like this, the stall owner felt somewhat displeased. Sensing his cultivation level was only at the Qi Refining 3rd Layer, he assumed the kid was just a poor ghost, so his attitude was no longer as warm. With a perfunctory laugh, he told him to look around himself and turned to solicit other passersby.
Xu Feng feigned interest as he flipped through the items for a while, then matter-of-factly asked for the prices of the minor fireball talisman, the ice sword talisman, and the wooden shield talisman.
Finding they were roughly what he expected, and leaving under the murderous glare of the boss, he quickened his pace away from the stall area and headed toward the inner district, where the talisman shop his Master frequented was located.
After walking for about two quarters of an hour, he arrived in front of a bustling street.
At the end of this street stood a towering stone archway, five or six zhang high. In the middle of the stone arch, the three large characters "Shop Street" were engraved.
It was said that these three characters had been personally written by a Golden Core powerhouse and then carved by craftsmen; Qi Condensation cultivators would feel a sense of dizziness just looking at them.
Without bothering to verify the truth of this rumor, he walked straight through the stone gate.
On both sides of the street here were rows of shops, decorated with extreme luxury and looking utterly resplendent. It was a world of difference compared to the stall area just now, and vastly superior in class.
At the same time, the cultivators shuttling back and forth here were basically at the Qi Refining Mid-Stage or Qi Refining Late Stage. Small fries at the Qi Refining 3rd Layer like him were rare sights, encountered only occasionally.
Gazing at the dazzling array of shops, Xu Feng searched for a long time before finally finding a talisman shop named Gathered Talisman Pavilion at the very end of the street, and walked inside.
"What does the Fellow Daoist need?"
An elderly man at the Qi Refining 8th Layer advanced to meet him. Though aged and doddering, he didn't show cold indifference because of Xu Feng's low cultivation; instead, he welcomed him with a smile and asked warmly.
"Shopkeeper, do you acquire talismans here?"
Hearing this, the shopkeeper looked him up and down, then asked tentatively:
"We do acquire talismans here, but it depends on the quality. Since the Fellow Daoist asks this, could you perhaps be an Amulet Master?"
"You jest, Fellow Daoist. This junior can only be considered an amulet apprentice for now. This time, I am acting on the orders of my Master to sell some of the talismans he has drawn recently."
Xu Feng didn't tell the truth; he didn't want to expose the fact that he was an Amulet Master yet. Right now, his strength was too insignificant, so he could only use a powerful banner to intimidate others.
"Oh, in that case, bring out your talismans and let me have a look. I'll evaluate the price for you based on the quality."
Hearing that Xu Feng was not an Amulet Master, the shopkeeper didn't react too strongly. He had just asked casually anyway and hadn't been counting on a positive answer.
The hundred arts of immortality were not something one could master casually; otherwise, array masters, alchemists, weapon refiners, and Amulet Masters would be as common as dirt in this world.
"Twenty minor fireball talismans, twenty-five ice sword talismans, twenty wooden shield talismans. Shopkeeper, please inspect them."
After accepting them, the shopkeeper took one talisman from each of the three piles and gently tapped against all three spiritual talismans.
Then one could see that the talismans, which had been lying quietly on the table, began to flicker with bright light, as if they were about to burst apart at any second.
Gauging the distance between himself and the talismans, Xu Feng felt it wasn't safe enough, so he quietly backed away a few steps.