Stepping into the Market, Zhou Ming finally experienced the feeling of being revered and looked up to by others (excluding the plot world); a Rank Four cultivation was that of a master among Gu Masters, enough to dominate the mundane world.
Although Zhou Ming was only a Two-turn, as long as he maintained his disguise and didn't expose himself, he could continue to act cool.
Ignoring everyone's gazes around him, Zhou Ming tried his best to put on a cold demeanor and walked into the largest shop in the Market.
"Esteemed Sir, welcome to our humble shop! Please come in! Please come in!"
The shopkeeper, whom Zhou Ming hadn't seen on his last visit, personally came out to greet him.
"I have a few precious Gu to sell," Zhou Ming said straightforwardly.
Before he came, he had deliberately made his voice hoarse (by physical means), so it sounded a bit unpleasant at the moment.
However, the shopkeeper didn't mind; instead, his eyes lit up, and he made a 'please' gesture with his hand: "Upstairs, please!"
Zhou Ming could feel the old man constantly observing him, but since no Gu were used, he let him be.
His disguise methods were not particularly clever; if an attentive person used Gu to inspect him, they would surely see his true appearance.
The problem was, his current identity was a Rank 4 Gu Master, and no one would risk offending a Rank 4 Gu Master by rashly using Gu to probe into another's secrets.
The two went up to the private room on the third floor, and Zhou Ming didn't waste any words, directly taking out ten Scarlet Iron Relic Gu.
"It's just Scarlet Iron Relic Gu... What, ten of them?"
Two-turn Scarlet Iron Relic Gu, to this Rank Three shopkeeper, while precious, was not uncommon.
He managed this shop, and he didn't know how many Gu passed through his hands every day, with a turnover of tens or even hundreds of thousands of origin stones; what was a single Scarlet Iron Relic Gu, worth at most 8,000 origin stones?
However, being able to produce ten Scarlet Iron Relic Gu at once was not common.
Scarlet Iron Relic Gu were natural Gu; currently, no Gu Master could refine them, relying entirely on Gu Masters capturing them in the wild.
The significance behind ten Scarlet Iron Relic Gu, as well as the identity of this mysterious Rank 4 Gu Master, was the reason for the shopkeeper's deep thought.
At this moment, Zhou Ming spoke.
"We'll trade these first; this is my first time cooperating with you all, so consider it an appetizer."
"If our cooperation is pleasant, I will bring more Gu next time."
Hearing this, the shopkeeper's heart skipped a beat again, and he put on a good-natured smile, saying: "Esteemed guest, the price of Scarlet Iron Relic Gu is generally around 7,500 origin stones, but since it's you, we certainly can't treat you like others. How about 7,800 origin stones? What do you think?"
"Alright," Zhou Ming nodded, handing over the ten Scarlet Iron Relic Gu to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper put away the Gu and was about to instruct someone to fetch the origin stones when Zhou Ming stopped him.
"No rush, I still need to buy some Gu."
Zhou Ming asked, "Do you have any Gu that can stabilize an Aperture here?"
The shopkeeper pondered for a moment and said, "Gu that stabilize an Aperture are mostly used when a Gu Master's Aperture is damaged, for healing purposes. These Gu themselves are relatively rare, and our small shop doesn't have many."
Then, the shopkeeper listed the names of several Gu.
Zhou Ming listened, but frowned slightly, because none of these Gu met his requirements.
"These Gu are all in stock at your shop, right? If I can wait, can you procure more Gu from other places?"
The shopkeeper's expression relaxed, and he smiled, saying, "Of course."
He again listed a large number of Gu; this time, Zhou Ming heard the name of Stone Aperture Gu among them.
In addition, there were a few other Gu that also met Zhou Ming's requirements, though their effects varied.
Ultimately, Zhou Ming picked and chose, selecting three Gu, including the Stone Aperture Gu.
"Guest, rest assured, these three Gu will definitely arrive within seven days."
"Alright," Zhou Ming nodded, then inquired about some other Gu, such as Yin-Yang Reversal Gu, which were extremely rare Gu and could not be procured by the shopkeeper even from the main store.
However, a few Gu that could lower Aptitude were also reserved by Zhou Ming, with an agreement to pick them up seven days later.
After discussing these matters, Zhou Ming began to inquire about all sorts of Rank One and Two-turn Gu in the shop.
"I'm currently researching new Gu formulas and need various types of Gu, so I'll just purchase a batch from you here."
Zhou Ming casually made up an excuse; it didn't matter whether the shopkeeper believed him or not, as long as he appeared to believe him.
Thus, Zhou Ming quickly purchased a large batch of Gu; the 78,000 origin stones from selling the ten Scarlet Iron Relic Gu were spent before they even reached his hands.
Originally, the shopkeeper wanted to use this money as a deposit for the reserved Gu, but seeing Zhou Ming spend all the money in one go, yet not mentioning a deposit at all, and also recalling the 'big business' Zhou Ming spoke of, he ultimately did not ask Zhou Ming for a deposit.
Having spent all his origin stones, Zhou Ming left the shop empty-handed and rushed back to the Family.
This time, the harvest was considerable: seventeen Rank One Gu, twenty-three Two-turn Gu, and sixteen Rank Three Gu.
These Gu included consumable Gu and ordinary Gu; if they were all consumable Gu, he could have bought even more Gu.
Unfortunately, after Zhou Ming's sweeping purchases during his rest period from the last mission, there weren't many unique Rank One and Two-turn consumable Gu left that could be bought in the Market.
So Zhou Ming could only buy a mix; fortunately, the business of reselling Gu was currently his exclusive venture, and he would profit no matter what he did.
Returning to the Family after many days (though for the Gu World, it was only one day), Zhou Ming couldn't help but feel a stir of emotions.
"Zhou Hao and the others haven't returned yet," Zhou Ming walked to the residences of his teammates from the same squad; although he knew they couldn't possibly return so quickly, he still felt a strange sense of loss.
He would leave the Family sooner or later; no, it should be said that the day he left the Family was already not far off.
It had been over a month since he broke through to Two-turn Peak, and with his current ninety-nine percent Aptitude, he would surely advance to Rank Three within half a month.
If he truly became a Ten Extreme Physique then, he would have to consider leaving the Family and going to a more prosperous place to find a way to solve the Ten Extreme Physique problem.
From the moment his Aptitude advanced to ninety-nine percent, Zhou Ming knew that all his plans had been disrupted; the original path of secretly developing within the Family, becoming a'Sword God of Ten-Mile Slope', was no longer viable.
After leaving the Family, Zhou Ming might find it difficult to meet these friends with whom he had experienced life and death.
"No feast lasts forever; the joys and sorrows of the human world are nothing more than this, nothing more."
Returning to his residence, Zhou Ming gently closed the door, as if blocking out the entire world along with his melancholic emotions.
His expression once again became calm, and his thoughts returned to coolness.
"Let's return to the Main God Space!"
As his strength increased, the reward points Zhou Ming needed for one round trip increased to two thousand, but similarly, the reward points he obtained were also much more than before.
The scene before him changed, and the familiar Main God Space's great light orb reappeared before him.
Fourth update! I want that... you know... one, two, three... you know what I mean...