CHAPTER 354: CHAPTER 354 A BIT STRANGE

The Floating Market levelled up, and as the shops became more exquisite, so did their display windows.

Double-leaf wooden windows with intricate carvings opened silently, and the elixirs inside were bathed in a gentle, soft light, making them even more enticing. The faint scent of medicinal incense wafted through the air, enveloping several streets!

"Sniff sniff! That’s the aroma of Second Grade Spirit Core Pills!" The Bear Demon was looking around when he suddenly caught a whiff of an enticing medicinal scent, inexplicably stirring a craving within him, almost making him drool.

At that moment, the shop assistant selling inferior products was trying to convince two cultivators to make a purchase. The aroma of elixirs drifting from nearby went directly into their nostrils, and the two demon cultivators sniffed it suspiciously before looking at the Spirit Core Pills the shop assistant was promoting, making them frown, "The aroma of this Second Grade Spirit Core Pill seems a bit off, doesn’t it?"

"Dear customers, didn’t I just say that this new alchemist was a bit off on the timing when refining, so the aroma of this pill is naturally not as good. But it still can’t beat the cheap price! It’s thirteen thousand Spirit Stones per piece at the Treasure Pavilion, but here it’s only ten thousand!"

With such an enticing aroma, who would still be willing to spend a hefty price on inferior products?

The two demon cultivators immediately decided to follow the aroma, thinking that even if they spend a few thousand more Spirit Stones, at least during critical times, they’d have pure Spiritual Power to replenish and save their lives.

"Now this is what an elixir should smell like!" The Bear Demon, having a better vantage point, followed the aroma to the Cloud Grocery Store a few steps away, and as soon as he glanced into the window, his eyes couldn’t move away.

He couldn’t explain why, but he just had a firm belief—this shop’s elixirs were definitely genuine and authentic!

Seeing a price one thousand Spirit Stones lower than the Treasure Pavilion, the Bear Demon hesitated a bit.

Though it wasn’t cheap at all! Yet, what if it would make the difference in winning a future battle?

When he first got the news, he thought that the Immortal Peach in Wo Hu Temple was a secret confined to the Secret Realm, rejoicing at his good fortune to stumble upon such an opportunity.

But who would have thought that after rushing over from far and wide, it’d be busier than a festival, and the stash of elixirs he had quickly seemed inadequate. The Bear Demon tried to quickly buy more near the market to prepare, yet others had the same idea, causing the price of Spirit Medicine to skyrocket day by day, hesitating made it even more expensive.

"Hey, are you buying or not? Don’t waste our time!"

"Exactly, a Second Grade Spirit Core Pill for twelve thousand, with a rich and dense pill aroma indicating top quality. If you don’t want it, move aside!"

"Hesitating to buy elixirs, haven’t you heard the latest news, perhaps?"

"What news? Could kind fellow please share a bit of it?"

"The news from the Treasure Pavilion—once the Immortal Peaches ripen, all the arrays in Wo Hu Mountain will activate fully, preventing sword flight and teleportation, with a strong pressure consuming spiritual power within you. Without storing enough elixirs, you may not even be able to set foot on the mountain!"

"Indeed, opportunities are rare and demanding..."

......

Jiang Yuan listened keenly to the chatter outside the grocery store, feeling puzzled—another new theory? Could it just be some people spouting nonsense just to sell at high prices?

He remained skeptical, but the cultivators outside, excited by the new information, didn’t question it at all. Moreover, these cultivators around him were all potential competitors, and someone purchasing the elixir without him doing the same, what if it resulted in him missing out on the Immortal Peach by just that much?

Every cultivator possessed some degree of pride and had encountered some opportunities, believing that regardless of the fierce competition, they still had the possibility to succeed.

Thus, the Bear Demon gritted his teeth and spent twelve thousand Spirit Stones to buy an elixir.

The excitement spread, with cultivators behind competing as if the elixirs were free, selling out every elixir within half an hour. Due to the significant amounts, Jiang Yuan mostly received silver notes, which needed to be exchanged into Spirit Stones at the Marketplace Money Shop.

In the blink of an eye, over ten million Spirit Stones were credited, allowing him to relish the profits this wave brought.

He hurriedly went to the money shop to exchange a large sum of Spirit Stones into his account, then purchased the Blood Replenishing Pill formula from the System Mall. He promptly went to the Alchemy Room, clicked to use it, and began refining the Blood Replenishing Pills, whose prices were similarly soaring.

"Something feels off." The more Jiang Yuan clicked to make pills, the more he felt something was amiss.

The news of the Wo Hu Temple’s Immortal Peach maturing was leaked far too seriously, wasn’t it?

Without exaggeration, at this moment, many experts and sect family members hadn’t shown up yet, while at least twenty to thirty thousand loose cultivators were gathered around Wo Hu Mountain and roaming the market.

If they waited until the Immortal Peach fully ripened, the number of competitors would surely be overwhelming.

The question is—who exactly leaked the news?

According to the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Pavilion, first came the Wo Hu Temple with that door of unknown origins, then the World Alliance chose the place to establish the market.

At that time, the Immortal Peach had just borne fruit, with the maturity still far off in the future.

Though many might have passed through the door and seen Wo Hu Temple, few would recognize it as an Immortal Peach Tree, whose fruits mature after four hundred years, granting significant cultivation and a hundred-year lifespan increment.

Even if someone did identify it, they should have kept the secret discreetly and guarded it, rather than attracting competitors by spreading the word.

The sales frenzy at the Wo Hu Temple Market must have had deliberate influences, no more than an attempt to hype prices to sell goods at high prices. It’s understandable.

But who was the initial source of spreading the news of the Immortal Peach?

And how did it propagate widely, as if everyone was eager for the entire world’s cultivators to know, spreading the news like mad? Didn’t the demon cultivators understand the value of quietly accumulating wealth?

Unable to figure it out after thinking hard, Jiang Yuan decided to set aside his doubts for now, as the current lifespan extension doesn’t solely rely on the Immortal Peach. He would assess the situation when the time came to make a decision.

Amidst the busywork at the shop, he turned and entered the Ancient Teleportation Array inside the mountain cave.

First, he needed to find a place to cut down trees; second, to discover a lake connecting to the ocean to resolve the mermaid’s post-sale issues.

Previously using the teleportation array, he hadn’t gotten around to spending money to unlock other areas, but having funds today, he wanted to see if he could unlock new regions on the map.

[Ancient Teleportation Array storage locations can be updated, would you like to update?]

Jiang Yuan had just stepped up when the system prompted him.

Eh? This thing can update its data?

Seeing as it didn’t cost money, he decided to update and see what happens.

After selecting the update, the progress bar moved slowly, and after about a minute, it indicated the update was complete.

Upon clicking to open the teleport page again, he discovered a new unlockable teleport point—Crescent Lake in the Wilderness World!

"This is incredibly convenient! Unlocking Crescent Lake, I can head east to Lushan to gather Spirit Stones; heading west leads to Ice Mountain for more Moonlight Stones to give to the elves, and I can summon mermaids anytime and cut as many trees as I need!" It felt as timely as finding a pillow when feeling sleepy, with familiar materials like Spirit Medicine and Moonlight Pearls in abundance, putting his mind at ease.

He spent thirty thousand Spirit Stones to unlock the teleport point, clicked teleport, and the next second Jiang Yuan was standing by the familiar Crescent Lake shore.

[Would you like to spend ten thousand Spirit Stones to establish a teleportation array here?]

Without hesitation, he chose to build a teleportation array, and then Jiang Yuan blew the Conch Shell and took out his fishing rod, patiently waiting while gaining fishing experience.

"Splash~"

The gentle sound of water was followed by Yaoguang rising from the surface, adorned in her Feathered Robe. The moonlight illuminating the water created layers of ripples, like scattered silver, making the robe even more vibrant and dazzling.