Due to its proximity to the territory of the Five Elders Association, the Jiushan Province could be considered the true front line of war.
Over the centuries, ownership of this region has changed hands several times.
Instead of investing effort into development and ending up benefiting others, it was better to let the chaos continue and allow it to become a buffer zone for the ongoing conflict between the two sides.
This chaotic situation is the result of the mutual considerations between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association, leading to the lawlessness of the Jiushan Province.
In front of Mount Tianchang City, Greenwood Rebirth True Lord revealed his identity.
After a moment, the people entering Mount Tianchang City collectively breathed a sigh of relief, and their tense nerves relaxed.
Fatigue occupied their minds, and everyone decided to take some time to rest in the city.
Li Fan, being just a clone, didn't feel particularly exhausted and decided to leisurely stroll through Mount Tianchang City.
Built on the mountain, the city's architecture and layout were quite different from other cities.
It was divided into nine layers, with the Immortal Ancestor statue towering on the topmost level, overseeing all.
The next level housed the official buildings of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, such as the Martial Hall and the Heavenly Secrets Hall.
Below that was a clear boundary, where the core of the city's guardian formation was located.
The lower layers appeared more disorderly, with various shops and residences scattered around.
Looking at Mount Tianchang City, Li Fan suddenly had a feeling that the upper three layers of the city were forcibly added on top of the mountain.
They seemed out of place compared to the several other layers.
The most significant difference in the Jiushan Province's cities, compared to other provinces, was the absence of the Tianxuan Mirror within the city.
Li Fan knew before arriving that perhaps due to safety concerns, no Tianxuan Mirrors would be provided in the Jiushan Province.
If both parties in a transaction didn't have Tianxuan Minor Mirrors, they could only settle the deal using spirit stones.
Li Fan's clone had come to purchase cultivation techniques. After inquiring with passersby, he quickly arrived at the Wanfa Chamber of Commerce on the sixth layer.
It was a very inconspicuous building; Li Fan would've thought he had come to the wrong place if not for the familiar character "" (Wan) embroidered on the flags at the entrance.
No one greeted him at the entrance.
Once inside, the lighting changed abruptly, revealing a hidden world within the small building.
The clamor and commotion of people became apparent, and as far as the eye could see, there was a bustling market with many cultivators setting up stalls.
It was like entering a lively bazaar where many cultivators were selling their wares.
After a brief observation, Li Fan noticed that the crowd was divided by several banners with words like "Weapon," "Formation," "Pill," "Talisman," "Book," "Miscellaneous," and so on written on them.
In the center of all the trading markets stood a towering building. A signboard in the middle of the high building read "Technique."
Li Fan navigated through the crowded people towards the Wanfa Tower.
Inside the building, cultivators were busy entering and exiting, appearing extremely busy.
A Qi Condensation cultivator in robes quickly approached and greeted him.
"Esteemed guest, what brings you here? Cultivation techniques, forbidden items, or slaves?" he warmly inquired.
"I'll just browse around for now," Li Fan casually replied.
The attendant smiled and nodded, "Certainly, feel free to explore. If you need anything, just let us know at any time."
Li Fan wandered through the Wanfa Tower.
According to occasional signs inside, he understood that the first floor mainly sold goods for Foundation Establishment cultivators and below.
The variety of items amazed him, ranging from detailed displays of techniques to emotionless enslaved cultivators, specially crafted weapons, and storage rings scavenged from fallen cultivators with unexamined contents.
There were even services for customized weapons, slaves, or techniques.
With enough money, one could quickly obtain whatever they desired, without the need to search within the Wanfa Tower.
The merchandise could only be seen, not touched.
A curtain of light separated the merchandise from the visitors.
When spiritual consciousness locked onto the merchandise, a text introduction appeared on the light screen.
If one needed to purchase the merchandise, one only needed to call out to the shopkeeper, and one could quickly check out using contribution points through a provided Tianxuan Minor Mirror.
After purchase, the screen on display would immediately be replaced with other merchandise to avoid leaving the space empty.
......
Li Fan wandered around and couldn't help but remember the experience of shopping at the mall before transmigrating.
The shopping experience in the Wanfa Tower seemed a bit more primitive compared to that of the Tianxuan Mirror.
However, it seemed to promote the desire to spend even more.
Passing through a barrier, Li Fan arrived on the second floor of the Wanfa Tower.
According to the instructions inside, generally, cultivators could only enter a floor one realm higher than their own cultivation level.
The second floor featured goods related to the Golden Core realm, and it was currently the highest level Li Fan could access.
The variety of goods here mirrored the first floor, although the quantity was somewhat reduced.
The store assistants were now Foundation Establishment cultivators, but they still wore smiles and maintained a courteous demeanor.
After browsing for a while, Li Fan stopped in front of a technique called "Boundless Mist."
He focused his spiritual consciousness, and the technique's introduction appeared.
"Water attribute Golden Core technique."
"After cultivation, one's inner qi becomes like a vast lake, inexhaustible; one's figure becomes like ethereal mist, difficult to detect."
"Selling price: 70,000 contribution points."
"Buyout price: 140,000 contribution points."
This buyout price hadn't appeared on the first floor, and its meaning was unclear.
Surprisingly, it was double the regular selling price.
Intrigued, Li Fan inquired with the attendant.
After some explanation, Li Fan understood that the normal sale of a technique only involved selling the right to use it.
Inside the Wanfa Tower, backup copies of the techniques still existed.
Regardless of the reason, if a sold technique went unpracticed for thirty years, the Wanfa Tower would re-list it for sale.
The buyout price, on the other hand, was the price to permanently purchase the technique.
Once sold, the Wanfa Tower would no longer retain a backup copy, and the buyer would own the full rights to the technique.
If the buyer lost the technique, the Wanfa Tower couldn't help retrieve it.
If the buyer died without leaving behind any inheritance, the technique would be lost forever.
"Quite interesting, buying out a technique..."
"The price is double the regular selling price..."
"It's hard to say whether it's a profit or a loss."
Without rushing to buy, Li Fan recalled that he hadn't seen any of the "forbidden items" mentioned by the attendant when entering. Curious, he inquired about them.
"The forbidden items sold in the Wanfa Tower don't necessarily have high prices. It's just that for various reasons, they are not suitable for public sale."
"If fellow Daoist wishes to view them, you'll need to sign a confidentiality contract first."
The attendant explained enthusiastically.
Li Fan saw no reason to decline and promptly signed the contract.
The attendant took out a golden talisman.
A layer of golden light emerged from it, enveloping both of them.
In the blink of an eye, Li Fan found himself on another unknown floor.
The goods and customers here were even scarcer. Li Fan looked around with keen interest.
These were truly forbidden items.
The first thing Li Fan saw deeply piqued his interest.
"Diagram of the Immortal Ancestor forcibly seizing the Tai Shang Primordial Scripture."