Chapter Seventeen: The Cloud Boat Market

During his visualization, Ying Chen could sense his spiritual consciousness becoming more refined.

For orthodox Daoist cultivators, equal emphasis was placed on essence, energy, and spirit; yet, at the early stages of cultivation, it was difficult to utilize these effectively.

For cultivators at the Qi Refining stage, spiritual consciousness could not even leave the body; it certainly lacked the mysterious abilities legend spoke of. But this did not mean it was useless.

A refined spiritual consciousness brought endless benefits: it improved the control of magical power, the casting of spells, and even mastery over the physical body.

Ying Chen discovered that the visualization method could refine his spiritual consciousness. Naturally, he felt delighted. Yet, when he tried to press on, the sensation quickly faded.

At first, Ying Chen thought his practice was still lacking. But even when his mind drifted and he could no longer concentrate on visualization, the feeling did not return.

Withdrawing from his meditative state, Ying Chen pondered the cause. Suddenly, insight dawned.

"So it turns out, the refinement of my spiritual consciousness wasn't due to the visualization itself, but because through it I was able to cut away distracting and delusional thoughts. Naturally, my mind became more focused..."

In Buddhism, this is called subduing the mind; in Daoism, it is known as dispelling illusion.

Ying Chen was unaware of such terminology, but having grasped the principle, he did not persist pointlessly in visualization. Opening his eyes, he realized dawn was near.

"Zhuo Qing hasn't come yet?"

He mused for a moment, rose, and opened the courtyard gate. There, on the ground before the door, lay a small oil-paper package.

Ying Chen was thoughtful. He was certain no one had knocked during the night; clearly, it had been placed there deliberately.

"This woman is cautious indeed." With a gesture, the package flew to his hand, and he returned to the courtyard.

The door closed behind him, and Ying Chen opened the oil-paper package. Inside was a skin-painting, folded neatly. Lifting a corner and gently shaking it open, he found it was as thin as cicada wings—less like human skin, more like a veil.

"So this is a painted skin..." It was Ying Chen's first time seeing such a thing. He turned it over several times, then entered his room with it. When he emerged again, he looked utterly different.

He picked up a silver mirror, and the reflection showed a plain-looking young man, sickly and bloodless, with sunken cheeks—a far cry from his former handsome self.

His fingertip pressed his face lightly; the touch was entirely real, as if it were his own flesh.

If not for the fact that he could sense the painted skin adhered to his own by means of magical power, he would have believed his appearance truly changed.

To outsiders, of course, it would seem exactly so.

Ying Chen nodded to himself, activated his magic power, and his body suddenly grew two inches taller and a little thinner.

Now, there was not a trace of resemblance left to his original self.

Without further delay, Ying Chen gathered his belongings, changed into simple black robes, and hid his storage pouch—emblazoned with the Chishui Cliff sigil—inside his sleeve. Once all was ready, he slipped out the courtyard gate and into the black bamboo grove.

Twisting and turning along a little-used path, he descended Chishui Cliff, crossed the suspension bridge over Redwater, and mounted his ghost steed, speeding away like the wind.

By the time he left the mountain, dawn was just breaking, but the sky had yet to brighten fully. Already, the marketplace was in sight.

It was a low green mountain, barely reaching the clouds, but the summit was visible. Atop it hovered a treasure ship, its hull aglow with dazzling lights rising and falling.

Ying Chen had heard of this: the Celestial Treasure Cloud Ship, belonging to a powerful merchant guild called the Celestial Treasure Pavilion. The ship traveled the land, conducting business wherever it went.

This marketplace existed because the Cloud Ship frequently anchored here, gradually attracting cultivators and forming the bustling bazaar it had become. Hence, it was also known as the Cloud Ship Market.

Yet Ying Chen believed the real reason for the ship's frequent stops was the proximity to Chishui Cliff—indeed, to the very Inborn Dao itself. He had heard tell of many inner sect disciples appearing aboard the Cloud Ship.

From a distance, Ying Chen dismounted his ghost steed—wealth should not be flaunted, and he wished to avoid unnecessary trouble. It was only a little effort to continue on foot.

Leaping lightly up to the mountain peak, he could finally appreciate the grandeur of the Cloud Ship. Up close, even craning his neck, he could not see its full length—only the brilliance of its treasures.

He knew the ship only welcomed wealthy patrons, not someone of his current standing. But he did not believe this would always be the case. Quickly averting his gaze, he wandered the marketplace below.

The stroll was an eye-opener. Though the trade here was less refined than aboard the ship, the variety was astonishing.

Talismans, elixirs, puppets, living creatures, spiritual essences—all could be found. At stalls with rarer goods, one could even see cultivation techniques, spells, and manuals for sale. At one shop, Ying Chen even saw a magic artifact displayed.

Unable to resist, he entered to take a closer look: it was a magical robe called the Light Veil Cloud Robe, which not only protected the wearer with a spiritual barrier but also allowed for swift flight—a feature that made Ying Chen's heart race with longing.

For cultivators at the Qi Refining stage, flight was only possible through spells and then only for brief moments—nothing like the effortless soaring of those at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Moreover, Ying Chen had never learned any flying spells. A magical artifact like this naturally delighted him.

Unfortunately, the price was far beyond his means. After one glance at the price tag, he wisely turned and left, unwilling to torture himself further with desire.

Setting aside such thoughts, Ying Chen focused on finding the stalls selling medicinal herbs. But although he spent the entire day browsing, he made no purchases.

At night, the marketplace quieted somewhat. Ying Chen found a secluded spot to meditate and restore his energy. When dawn broke again, he headed straight for a corner of the market.

Yesterday's explorations had taken him to every shop, stall, and vendor selling herbs in the Cloud Ship Market. He now had a clear idea of the situation.

The herbs here were not without guarantee of quality. The more established alchemy houses and apothecaries, though not on par with those on Chishui Cliff, traded in herbs of a certain standard.

Of course, their prices were hardly low. To find bargains, one had to scour the smaller stalls.

But this required a sharp eye for herbs.

Yesterday, Ying Chen had discovered many stalls offering tampered goods: inferior herbs passed off as premium, ages falsified by trickery, genuine and fake mixed together...

If not for having pored over Elder Jiang Gu's twelve herbal manuals so thoroughly, he might never have noticed.

Even so, Ying Chen was unwilling to test his luck. Any stall where he detected issues—be it just a mix of genuine and fake—he avoided entirely. If he had any doubts, he would not risk it.

After such careful selection, more than half the options were eliminated.

"People's hearts are not what they once were," Ying Chen sighed.