After a few days of indulgence, Chen Fan finally remembered to get down to business.
Moreover, despite the physical exhaustion after these days of intimacy, whenever the two of them reached a point of deep passion, their Spiritual Power would actually increase from time to time.
If he could find a suitable dual-cultivation cultivation technique, paired with spiritual pills of his own making, his wife might yet have a bright future on the Great Dao. Otherwise, if he were left all alone, how could he possibly make use of this family immortal cultivation system?
As time went on, the news of Chen Fan becoming a First-Tier Alchemist also spread.
Old acquaintances and friends came to his door to offer their congratulations, while the clansmen on his wife's side—who had cast a wide net to begin with—were all the more enthusiastic upon hearing the news of his breakthrough.
With people nearly wearing out his doorstep these past few days, Chen Fan naturally hadn't been able to properly test the effects of the system. But since he was bound to this system, what could he do? Achieving the Great Dao was not something one could accomplish alone; if a family system didn't involve interacting with others, could it still be called a family?
Coupled with the endless stream of visitors, he had already heard the system chime several times over the past few days, and now he had accumulated 20 skill points.
[Family Immortal Cultivation System]
[Head of the Family: Chen Fan]
[First Wife: Li Lingyu]
[Cultivation: Level 5 Qi Condensation]
[Would you like to allocate points to the following skills?]
[First-Tier Alchemist, Spirit Planter Apprentice.]
...
"At this rate, I'll be able to break through to a Second-Tier Alchemist in just a few days."
Chen Fan muttered to himself, then thought: "However, a tree standing tall in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. At first, I could use the joy of just getting married to excuse the breakthrough, but if I am too high-profile, others will think I've obtained some great stroke of fortune. With my meager cultivation, I wouldn't be able to withstand anyone's covetous gaze."
One had to know that the towns not far from here only had a few dozen First-Tier Alchemists in total, and each one was treated like a precious treasure by their small families. Before obtaining the system, he had long ago given up the dream of becoming one of them.
"It's a bit troublesome, but since I have the system, I can keep a low profile and develop steadily. Eventually, no one will be able to stand in my way."
Chen Fan thought to himself, feeling that the future was full of hope: lay low and don't draw attention.
Next to Yixin Village was a mountain named Zilong Mountain. It was called that because the entire mountain lay sprawled across the land like a sleeping dragon.
Although this Zilong Mountain could hardly be called majestic or precipitous, and its spiritual Qi was rather thin, the low-grade monster beasts and spirit herbs within the mountain were quite abundant.
Therefore, even the nearby towns often came here to acquire items gathered by others within the mountain range.
Consequently, a collection of makeshift street stalls had naturally sprung up at the foot of the mountain. As for the shops in the village itself, the goods they sold were relatively simple—they were mainly frequented by those who sought stability and regularly needed pills and the like, since street stalls could leave you with nowhere to find the seller if something went wrong, whereas a shop at least had a Late Qi Condensation cultivator to guarantee safety.
At the foot of Zilong Mountain, this location had been a simple trading hub for many years. The reason for this was precisely because there was a Spirit Spring here. Though it wasn't of any great use, people couldn't very well set up stalls in the middle of some barren wasteland, could they?
There were almost no permanent shops here; they were all temporary street stalls.
The goods at these stalls were a mixed bag of the good and the bad, with the vast majority being fakes. Occasionally, rumors would spread of someone striking it rich through sheer luck, successfully picking up a rare treasure at a stall, but most of those stories were sheer deceptions.
As for safety, the less said the better. However, how many wealthy people would actually come to a place like this? Thus, it wasn't as if murder and pillaging happened every day; after all, given that kind of time, one would be better off gathering a few more low-grade spirit plants.
As for those who managed to stumble upon some fortune and flaunted it ostentatiously, they were exceedingly rare.
Therefore, the greatest danger of coming here was buying a fake item. Those unfortunates who got scammed could only chalk it up to bad luck. All transactions here were cash on delivery, inspected on the spot; once it was over, who would ever admit fault if you came looking for them later?
Even so, the stream of people coming here to set up stalls and trade remained endless and exceptionally bustling.
After walking for a while and arriving at his destination, Chen Fan saw a vast, open expanse. In the center, someone had used a low-grade Formation to channel the Spirit Spring so that the entire area benefited from its effects.
One section was packed with buildings, while another was entirely filled with street stalls, leaving only a few narrow paths for the bustling crowds of people coming and going.
After all, cultivators from ten miles around and rogue cultivators making a living throughout the mountain range all came here to trade.
The goods displayed on the stalls were a dazzling array of varied trinkets, but not a single high-grade item was among them—they were all worthless fakes that nobody would want even if left lying on the ground. Yet, how would you know if someone might buy one unless you tried?
Chen Fan slowly weaved between the stalls, his gaze sweeping casually across them as he searched for his target.
His purpose in coming here had long been decided: he wanted to find some dual-cultivation cultivation techniques, and now he also hoped to buy a low-grade Gathering Spirit Formation or something similar, along with a maze formation. After all, Chen Fan currently had an idea in mind, though he wasn't yet sure whether to put it into practice.
Naturally, to deter any clueless individuals with bad intentions, Chen Fan also displayed his Level 5 Qi Condensation cultivation. While it was far from impressive, here it placed him among the taller ones in the crowd.
After all, most of the people setting up stalls here were only at Level 2 or 3 Qi Condensation.
Chen Fan decided to browse the stalls first to see if there was anything he fancied; if not, he would head to the shops run by the various families in town.
Of course, those shop owners wouldn't think much of his one or two spirit stones, and the prices of the goods inside those shops were exorbitantly expensive.
As Chen Fan strolled among the stalls, it didn't take long before he spotted a suitable target.
It was a stall run by a middle-aged man with all sorts of miscellaneous items laid out. From afar, Chen Fan had already spotted a low-grade formation disk among them.
Chen Fan stopped in his tracks, picked it up to inspect it, and discovered to his surprise that it was actually a Soul-Bewitching Formation. He never expected that he would actually manage to pick up a bargain! Just as he was feeling elated, he suddenly noticed that the interior of the formation disk had sustained some damage.
A wave of disappointment washed over him. As expected, picking up bargains like this was something only protagonists could do; he'd better just be honest and practical!
Deeming the formation disk still usable, Chen Fan stepped forward to haggle with the stall owner.
When the stall owner opened his mouth and demanded five spirit stones, Chen Fan almost jumped in shock.
He glared at the stall owner and said, "How can you have the face to ask for so much money for a damaged item?"
Then followed a round of intense bargaining.
The stall owner knew he was asking an exorbitant price, but figured buyers were free to make counteroffers. Hearing Chen Fan's offer of two spirit stones, he weighed it in his mind and ultimately accepted it—after all, the item wasn't in mint condition anyway.
He had simply quoted a high price to begin with since he had nothing to lose; what if some hothead actually took a fancy to it and bought it? After all, in this vast marketplace, it wasn't as if stall owners hadn't successfully sold such items before.
After looking at Chen Fan, the stall owner decided to agree to the price.
In the end, Chen Fan successfully purchased the damaged formation disk for the price of two low-grade spirit stones.
He then spent another two spirit stones at the same stall to buy a Maze Formation. As for a Gathering Spirit Formation, there weren't any for sale here, so he would just have to look elsewhere.
Having lived at the very bottom of this world for decades, Chen Fan was no longer some naive kid. No matter how brilliantly the vendors spun their tales or how emotionally and vividly they recounted the history of their wares, they couldn't trick Chen Fan into spending a single extra spirit stone.
Whenever he saw something he liked, Chen Fan could always accurately name a price that sat right on the vendor's psychological bottom line.
After making another round, Chen Fan spent another ten low-grade spirit stones to gather all the items he needed, managing to find a balanced and peaceful dual-cultivation cultivation technique at one of the stalls.
Once everything was fully prepared and he was casually wandering around the stalls, just as he was getting ready to leave, Chen Fan caught a glimpse of a certain item at a distant stall out of the corner of his eye. He paused in his steps, then pretended to continue browsing as he slowly edged closer to that particular stall.