A gentle, chilly breeze swept through Cloud Crowned Peak Market, causing the pole in front of the door to sway. A black and red flag emblazoned with the character "Li" fluttered conspicuously in the wind.
The dark threshold was marred by more than a dozen footprints, lending it a distinctly worn appearance. A middle-aged man, slouched over, sat silently on the threshold with his chin in his hand, watching the world pass by.
A cultivator clad in gray paused briefly before him and asked, "Brother Yun, do you still have any pills in stock?"
A few days ago, the Li Family store had released over a dozen bottles of high-quality pills at a reasonable price, attracting a large crowd and selling out in less than a day. As a result, passing cultivators frequently inquired about them.
Li Yuanyun looked up and drawled, "Already sold out long ago."
The man waved his sleeve and walked away, muttering something to himself.
Li Yuanyun knew this person well—a regular Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivator at the market.
Since he was not highly skilled, he could not afford to provoke the Li Family. Despite being a mortal, Li Yuanyun still belonged to the main family's lineage, which usually earned him some respect. As a result, he was bold enough to show his bad mood in the cultivator's presence openly.
After the cultivator left, Li Yuanyun continued to sit on the threshold with a somber expression. Now in his thirties and showing his age, he now appeared even older since the death of his father, Li Xuanling.
"A direct descendant, yet relegated to such menial tasks..." he muttered bitterly.
Li Yuanyun once held a great appreciation for the clan rules that governed his fellow clan members. Now that these rules were directly applied to him, he no longer felt the same way about them. He sat silently, staring at the passersby, feeling utterly at a loss.
After a while, a black-robed cultivator stopped in front of him, causing the wind chimes at the door to tinkle softly. Recognizing the signs of a Qi Cultivator, Li Yuanyun quickly straightened up and respectfully invited the man, "Senior, please come inside!"
"Hm." the cultivator grunted hoarsely. His bamboo hat obscured his face and his voice was deep and raw.
Li Yuanyun could not help but look up, but at the cultivator's dismissive snort, he quickly lowered his head again and followed him inside. From a corner, Li Qiuyang hastily looked up and greeted the visitor with a respectful smile, "Senior seems unfamiliar... May I ask what brings you here today?"
When Li Yuanyun heard the tone in Li Qiuyang's voice, he could tell that the man was likely at the late stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm, perhaps even at the peak. Li Yuanyun stepped backward discreetly.
The black-robed cultivator nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on Yuanyun for a moment before surveying the room, appraising the merchandise. He was dressed in an unusual attire, his face obscured by a black veil.
"Take a look at this."
With a flick of his fingers, he sent a dark jade pearl flying toward Li Qiuyang, who caught it and inspected it closely.
The pearl was about the size of a fist. As Li Qiuyang held it, a slight tingling sensation passed through his hand. The object was rather heavy and opaque, revealing nothing of its contents.
Li Qiuyang scrutinized the pearl for a bit but could discern no details. He extended his spiritual sense, probing the object briefly, then expressed his confusion.
"Senior, this is my first time seeing such a rare pearl. Our store doesn't usually accept spirit items though, and I hope you will forgive my ignorance... But is this a spirit item of the Qi Cultivation Realm?"
"Hahaha!" the black-robed cultivator laughed harshly, smacking his sword on the counter with a resonant clang that startled both Li Qiuyang and Li Yuanyun.
His voice raspy, he chided, "To run a family store with such a lack of knowledge about spirit items! Is this the standard of the Lijing's Li Family? Ridiculous!"
Qiuyang's expression darkened, anger flaring within him.
Looks like this guy is here to make trouble!
Despite knowing that the man came with ill intentions, he restrained himself and replied calmly, "Please, give me a moment, Senior. I'll consult the owner... He's very knowledgeable and will surely be able to identify this item."
With a respectful gesture, he handed the pearl back to the man.
The black-robed figure calmly put away the item before dismissing Li Qiuyang with a wave, arrogantly saying, "Get out of my sight."
Biting back his frustration, Qiuyang departed. The black-robed cultivator continued to eye the various leather and spirit items displayed around the shop, his murmurs filling the air.
Li Yuanyun cowered in a dark corner and watched silently, too fearful to speak.
Shortly after, Li Xuanxuan quickly descended from upstairs with a smile and said, "Forgive me for the lack of welcome! I am Li Xuanxuan, the owner of this modest establishment."
The cultivator glanced at him and placed the mysterious pearl on the counter, asking curtly, "Do you know what this is?"
Li Xuanxuan hurriedly took the jade pearl and carefully studied it. A sense of familiarity washed over him as if the memory was sparking within him.
"The size of a fist, a tingling sensation upon touch, heavy and black, devoid of light or color. I think I've read about this object before..." he murmured.
As he searched his memory, a shock ran through him like an electric jolt. His heart pounded as realization struck him.
"So this is the item..." he muttered quietly through gritted teeth.
This jade pearl had haunted Li Xuanxuan's dreams countless times, as vivid as if he had read its description repeatedly. In his dreams, he had tried to stop Li Pingyi time and again, only to wake up in agony, his grip crushing the edge of the bed...
Despite its harmless appearance, this object had claimed the life of his most cherished eldest son and plunged him into a life-long despair. Although he had never seen it before, he was able to recognize it right away.
"Hey, you!"
The raspy voice of the black-robed cultivator jolted him back to reality.
Covered in a cold sweat, Li Xuanxuan realized he had been standing frozen to the spot, a chill spreading through his body as he regained his senses.
He wiped his face with his sleeve, suppressing the urge to smash the pearl. With a forced smile, he gently placed it on the counter.
The cultivator found his reaction quite suspicious. He peered at Li Xuanxuan intently from beneath his bamboo hat, his gaze piercing as he repeated his question.
"So... do you know what this is?"
Li Xuanxuan straightened up, hesitating to speak as thoughts raced through his mind.
Why is this person here...? He seems to know what it is... What's going on?
What is the meaning of this? Who would dare to cause trouble in the Xiao Family's market?
He exhaled slowly before replying in a calm voice, "Truth be told, I don't recognize it..."
"Hmph!"
The cultivator smacked the counter and was about to react harshly, but paused when he saw Li Xuanxuan hesitate and open to speak once again.
"But..." Li Xuanxuan began.
"But what?!"
The tension was palpable as the cultivator's voice grew strained, his impatience clear.
"If I am not mistaken, this pearl holds a mysterious technique that could unleash both thunder and fire. It's likely an extremely powerful object."
"Oh?"
The black-robed cultivator appeared slightly surprised, pausing for a breath before his voice deepened with interest.
"You have keen eyesight..."
Adjusting the edge of his bamboo hat, he watched Li Xuanxuan with an amused expression.
Li Xuanxuan, noticing the small gesture, felt a growing sense of alarm and said in a low voice, "Of course, my family possesses a unique secret technique! Mastering this skill would allow one to discern spirit items easily."
"Tell me more."
The black-robed cultivator's eyes glinted with a hint of greed as he stared at Li Xuanxuan, who quickly responded, "Just a moment, Senior!"
He moved to close the door properly before quickly peering outside. As he expected, several nearby shops were embroiled in heated arguments with cultivators inside—each one at the late stage of Qi Cultivation. The confrontations had escalated, already turning physical, with two individuals vandalizing a nearby store.
With a chill in his heart but a smile on his face, he turned back to find the black-robed cultivator staring at him intently.
Li Xuanxuan hurriedly whispered, "Senior, you may not be aware, but my family has a superior perception technique known as Spirit Eye Perception . I would be willing to impart it to you discreetly for a fair price."
"I see!"
The black-robed cultivator was delighted. He knew that such a secret technique was hard to come by as they were usually only memorized within the family. He thought to himself, No matter the cost, I must acquire this technique first before I deal with these people... With only an unrefined Qi cultivator and an early-stage Qi Cultivator, they're as good as dead.