At the entrance of Inch Mountain Market's archway.

The stationed cultivators inspected the passing cultivators arrogantly. When they saw Qin Ming transformed into a bearded man descending, they immediately switched to a fawning and obsequious demeanor, bowing and greeting him flatteringly: "Elder, are you here to enter the market?"

"May I ask how to address you?"

"I will handle the registration for you right away."

The Qi Cultivators in line around them also sensibly made way, casting curious glances at the bearded Foundation Establishment Stage man exuding Evil Qi.

"I am... Long Daoist!"

Qin Ming replied in a muffled voice, instantly revealing a rough aura.

"Oh, it's Elder Long. Please, do come in, I will open the array for you immediately." The gatekeeper registered him and then allowed him to pass.

Upon entering the market, Qin Ming was greeted by bustling trading caravans, various cultivators crowding the streets, and the shops on either side were richly stocked.

This was the largest cultivation market he had ever been to, many times larger than the Qingyang Market he visited before.

As Qin Ming walked along the main road, the surrounding cultivators avoided him, recognizing a robust Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator.

He had no mind to admire the market's prosperity or browse the surrounding shops.

Instead, he headed straight for the largest establishment inside the market, the "Cloud Fire Pavilion," which was undoubtedly one of the Thunder Origin Sect's assets.

"Please, elder, come inside, and proceed to the fourth floor."

The female greeter on the first floor saw a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator arrive and immediately displayed a professional smile, leading Qin Ming up.

The Cloud Fire Pavilion was massive, with eighteen floors, its construction and decor were ancient and luxurious, painstakingly crafted, displaying the grandeur of a local powerhouse, fully illustrating their vast influence.

The many Qi Cultivators eating on the first floor breathed a sigh of relief after he went up.

"Who is this elder expert?"

"I didn't expect a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator to visit today."

"This elder... perhaps not a local cultivator? I have no recollection."

"Hush... stop making baseless assumptions, some Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators are temperamental, careful words might bring calamity."

"Indeed, indeed, eat your meal!"

...

The fourth-floor room was elegantly decorated in an ancient style, dignified and solemn.

After half a cup of tea's time.

A middle-aged cultivator entered, wearing a blue silk robe with golden threads and a large red brocade robe, exhibiting a middle-stage Foundation Establishment mana fluctuation, displaying a calm and unhurried demeanor.

Upon entering the private room, the middle-aged cultivator sized up the rugged man in front of him, cupped his hands, and smiled, saying: "I am Han Lin, the resident of the Thunder Origin Sect in Inch Mountain, and the chief shopkeeper of this Cloud Fire Pavilion. Greetings to Fellow Daoist Long!"

"May I ask where Fellow Daoist Long hails from? I have many friends in the Wei Country cultivation realm, and I recognize most Foundation Establishment peers but have never heard of Fellow Daoist Long."

"I am just a rural villager who seldom ventures into the world, so it's normal that Fellow Daoist Han has not heard of me," Qin Ming replied calmly.

An immense entity like the Thunder Origin Sect, with its intelligence network spread throughout the Wei Country cultivation realm, naturally had information on every Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But this fake identity had only appeared twice near the Celestial River Market and Qianye Spirit Island, so it was understandable they had no knowledge of it.

"I see, Fellow Daoist Long is visiting Inch Mountain for the first time, may I know what you wish to purchase? Our Cloud Fire Pavilion has an abundance of cultivation resources."

Han Lin's tone was steady, conveying sincerity.

"I have heard that your pavilion offers Tier Three Arrays for sale, so I have come from afar for them." Qin Ming said straightforwardly.

Upon hearing this.

Han Lin's expression changed to one of surprise. He was visibly stunned and reassessed the unremarkable bearded man before him.

One must know, a Tier Three Array is unlike other cultivation items, not to mention the requirement for a Tier Three Spirit Vein during its setup, its cost alone is something that ordinary cultivators could only covet.

Only large families or significant powers, at least with several Foundation Establishment members, could have sufficient Spirit Stone resources to purchase such an item.

Ordinary Loose Cultivators couldn't even afford a single strand of an Array, let alone a Tier Three Array.

"Hehe, I did not expect Fellow Daoist Long to come for a Tier Three Array. May I ask where your celestial homeland is?"

"Indeed, we do sell Tier Three Arrays at Cloud Fire Pavilion, and I dare say, in the entire Wei Country's cultivation realm, less than three entities can offer Tier Three Arrays for sale."

Qin Ming chuckled in response: "Hehe, merely a hermit cultivator, not worth mentioning, but I recently heard about a looming beast calamity and had to liquidate my assets to secure a chance of survival."

"Oh? I did not expect Fellow Daoist Long to be so well informed. This news is currently circulating only among the high echelons of various major powers." Han Lin couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

It seemed that this 'Fellow Daoist Long' was by no means a mere rural villager; how could a rural villager grasp such critical intelligence?

However, as long as there's profit to be made, every visitor is welcome, as long as they are not fugitives or demonic cultivators, they are eligible for transactions.

"This transaction involving a Tier Three Array requires, with all due respect, verification of Fellow Daoist's Spirit Stones. At least a hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones or over a thousand Middle-Grade Spirit Stones are needed for the subsequent transaction steps." Han Lin explained with a smile.

The rugged man into whom Qin Ming had transformed chuckled, revealing a mouthful of large white teeth, and immediately placed two bags of Spirit Stones in front of Han Lin.

Han Lin nodded slightly at Qin Ming, then opened the two Spirit Stone bags, only to see that each bag was filled with five hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Stones.

Having demonstrated a wave of Spirit Stone strength, Han Lin no longer doubted the other party's purchasing power.

Instantly, the smile on his face grew even wider; completing this deal would be yet another great achievement!

Thus, he warmly poured Spirit Tea for Qin Ming and began to introduce, "Our pavilion currently offers three types of Tier Three Arrays."

"The first is the Primordial Star River Array, a Tier Three Low-Grade Array, which can utilize the power of mountains and stars, both offensive and defensive, priced at eighteen hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Stones."

"The second is the All Heaven Profound Spirit Array, a Tier Three Low-Grade Array, which, in addition to having extremely strong defensive capabilities, allows for void teleportation within the array's range at the cost of medium-grade Spirit Stones, priced at fifteen hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Stones."

"The third is the Profound Turtle Sea-Covering Array... a Tier Three Middle-Grade Array, renowned for its exceptionally formidable defensive capabilities, easily withstanding all attacks below the late-stage Golden Core."

"However, this array only has defensive capabilities and no other functions, and it requires a Tier Three Middle-Grade Spiritual Vein to fully manifest the strongest defensive effects of the array."

"If only using a Tier Three Low-Grade Spiritual Vein, the effect will be significantly reduced, and it should be explained in advance to Fellow Daoist Long, priced at twelve hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Stones."

After Han Lin finished speaking, he gently took a sip of Spirit Tea from his cup, waiting for Qin Ming's response.

"I wonder if your pavilion has a higher level Tier Three High-Grade Array?" Qin Ming suddenly blurted out.

"Pfft!"

"Cough, cough!"

Han Lin was so startled by the question that he spewed a mouthful of tea, then quickly wiped the water off himself.

He hadn't expected 'Fellow Daoist Long' to say something so astonishing.

"Cough! To be honest with Fellow Daoist Qin, our sect's Mountain Protection Array is just a Tier Three High-Grade Grand Array..." Han Lin couldn't help but twitch his face; he certainly couldn't sell the Thunder Origin Sect's Mountain Protection Array, could he?

"Haha! I see, I was indeed hasty." Qin Ming chuckled awkwardly.

After a brief consideration, he finally chose the Tier Three Middle-Grade Array 'Profound Turtle Sea-Covering Array' among the three arrays.

Qin Ming immediately took out another two hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Stones and handed them to Han Lin, causing the number of Spirit Stones on him to shrink by more than half.

However, he wasn't worried. At worst, he could auction off another Foundation Establishment Pill if necessary.

Both parties exchanged money for goods.

Han Lin took out something resembling a turtle shell and several dozen earth-colored Array Flags and handed them to Qin Ming, then said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Long, please take these carefully. This is the Array Core of the Profound Turtle Sea-Covering Array, and these are the Array Flags."

"Oh, and this as well. This jade scroll contains detailed instructions on how to set up the array. Fellow Daoist Qin can simply follow the operations described, which are very simple and convenient."

Qin Ming stored the array and jade scroll, sighing inwardly that purchasing an array was truly a money pit...

He had achieved his purpose for this trip and immediately cupped his hands to bid farewell to Han Lin: "Shopkeeper Han, it's been a pleasure doing business. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I won't stay longer."

"Haha! Fellow Daoist Long, no need to rush off. Why not stay in the market for a couple more days?"

"Han here would be delighted to show you around and properly entertain Fellow Daoist Long." Han Lin racked his brains, hoping to retain this extremely valuable customer.

It's rare to find someone who can casually take out twelve hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Stones to purchase an array.

With his experience managing Cloud Fire Pavilion, Han Lin knew without needing to contemplate that this Fellow Daoist Long likely possessed some extremely high-level skills within the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.

Otherwise, the only possibility left would be a 'Tribulation Cultivator,' but Han Lin had already secretly checked with a special tool just now, and there was indeed no sign of disguise on this Fellow Daoist Long.

Plus, he wasn't on the wanted list in Wei Country's Cultivation Realm, so his background should be relatively clean.

"I appreciate Fellow Daoist Han's good intentions. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future, and I'll definitely share drinks with the shopkeeper then," Qin Ming said, cupping his hands.

Seeing that Qin Ming did not directly refuse, Han Lin eagerly asked him, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Long has any affiliations? Would you be interested in joining our Thunder Origin Sect? Our treatment of Honored Guest Elders has always been exceptionally high..."

Qin Ming was already accustomed to such solicitations and succinctly refused the offer.

Han Lin was somewhat exasperated; he had intended to subtly probe the other party's background, but 'Fellow Daoist Long' was impermeable to both soft and hard approaches, speaking in a way that left no openings.

Although he was slightly disappointed, this was, after all, the first time they had interacted, and he couldn't rush things.

Moreover, the first interaction had already resulted in a major transaction, and with Fellow Daoist Long's capabilities, they were likely to cross paths again in the future.

So thinking,

Han Lin took out a jade token from his bosom and handed it to Qin Ming, saying, "Fellow Daoist Long, having spent so many Spirit Stones in our pavilion at once, you are eligible to become a distinguished guest here. If you have any needs in the future, feel free to come and find me, Han."

"So long as it's within the realm of Wei Country's Cultivation Realm, there are few resources we can't obtain, and an eighty percent discount is available to Fellow Daoist Long too."

Qin Ming accepted the jade token without hesitation, "Thank you very much."

Then, under Han Lin's courteous send-off, he left the shop.

This drew the attention of many cultivators on the street, as not many could boast of being personally seen off by someone of Han Lin's stature and position.

Qin Ming left the Inch Mountain Market and did not hurry back.

Instead, he started to frantically circle around the nearby mountain peaks.

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