Chapter 5: The Underground Trading Market

After the banquet ended, Wang Bo ordered someone to fetch a thousand taels of gold and handed them to the old Taoist.

However, this thousand taels was not truly a thousand taels, after all, the ancient unit of measurement differed from the modern one, but even so, a thousand taels of gold was still a huge sum for ordinary people.

The old Taoist appeared calm, but when he received the money, his hands trembled involuntarily.

Wang Bo noticed it but said nothing.

After receiving the silver, the old Taoist took his leave from Wang Bo, saying he had important matters and could not delay.

Wang Bo pretended to urge him to stay a few times, but seeing the other was determined to leave, he stopped insisting and saw off the old Taoist and his two disciples.

After the three left, Wang Bo returned to his room, took out the book the old Taoist had given him, and began to flip through it.

Although the old Taoist was not a good person, he had not cheated Wang Bo with fakes; what he gave Wang Bo was indeed a genuine cultivation method.

Only this method was incomplete, having only the first half and missing the second half.

Wang Bo leafed through this method, called the Profound Ice True Art; the magical power cultivated from it was like profound ice, chilling to the bone, capable of freezing one's mind.

It sounded mysterious, but in Wang Bo's view, it was quite mediocre.

A method like this could neither strengthen the body nor prolong life, and it was fraught with difficulties during cultivation. More importantly, practicing this art would disrupt the balance of yin and yang in the body, causing an excess of yin energy and an affliction of cold. Without a corresponding method to resolve it, one would inevitably suffer unbearably.

The old Taoist had ill intentions.

Seeing this, Wang Bo's eyes flashed with cold light. Originally, he had planned to wait until the old Taoist finished his business and came to attack, then give him a surprise.

But now Wang Bo changed his mind; he decided to send the surprise to the old Taoist right away.

Wang Bo casually tossed the method onto the table, stood up, and swept his gaze around. His eyes emitted a faint glow, and soon he located the old Taoist and his two disciples.

Wang Bo was no longer what he used to be; his farsightedness was beyond imagination. With one glance, he could take in the entire Chang'an.

In fact, not only Chang'an, but even several cities near Chang'an, Wang Bo could see clearly.

With such eyesight, the old Taoist naturally could not escape Wang Bo's tracking.

Even if they had left the Wang residence three days and three nights ago, Wang Bo could find these Taoists in a short time.

At this moment, the old Taoist, carrying a thousand taels of gold and followed by his two disciples, was beaming with pride, his old face smiling like a flower.

The group passed through the bustling market, walking further and further into the outskirts, eventually arriving at a deserted, narrow alley.

Wang Bo had originally intended to make a move, but seeing the three enter the secluded alley, he paused, wanting to see what they were doing in such a remote place.

After entering the alley, the old Taoist led his two disciples a few dozen steps to the end of the alley.

It was a dead end.

At that moment, the old Taoist formed a hand seal, muttered incantations, and released a stream of magical power.

The magical power swept out and gently tapped the ground.

Silently, the ground sank downward, revealing a downward staircase entrance.

The three Taoists showed no surprise, as if accustomed to it, and filed in one after another.

Seeing this, Wang Bo was somewhat astonished. When he first entered Chang'an, he had already scanned the city with his eyes and found that Chang'an was full of hidden talents. All famous Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries had cultivators.

Besides that, some wealthy families also had cultivators, some of whom were not weak.

From this, it was evident that cultivation flourished in this world.

But truly formidable experts that Wang Bo would take seriously were still rare, as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

After all, Wang Bo's current strength was not inferior to ordinary immortals and buddhas; ordinary heavenly soldiers and divine generals were no match for him.

However, in Chang'an, there were indeed a few experts at the level of true immortals and arhats lurking.

For instance, the most famous Daci'en Temple in Chang'an had a monk who had attained the arhat fruit.

Outside Chang'an, there was a Taoist temple with a human true immortal.

Even within the imperial palace, there were many cultivators lurking, but these were far inferior to true immortals and arhats, not even on the same level.

But the imperial palace was a very special place; without the emperor's order, even true immortals and arhats might not rashly enter, so for now, the palace remained quite safe.

After surveying Chang'an, Wang Bo had thought there were no secrets left in the city for him.

But today, these three Taoists casually revealed a place Wang Bo did not know about, telling him that Chang'an seemed not as simple as he had imagined.

What he had seen was merely an appearance.

Wang Bo's mind stirred, and his body vanished from his room. Before the downward staircase in the narrow, secluded alley had closed, he followed behind the three Taoists and entered.

He wanted to see what kind of place this was.

The old Taoist and his two disciples had no idea they were being followed. They walked down the stairs for several minutes until the view suddenly opened up.

A huge underground Taoist temple appeared in their sight.

The temple was ancient and solemn, with numerous halls, pavilions, and towers, all complete. The jade orchid pillars were exquisite and moving, the walls carved with lifelike birds and beasts. The overall layout of the buildings formed a Bagua pattern, implying yin and yang poles, clearly a carefully arranged man-made formation.

In the center of the square in the temple's rear courtyard stood a furnace, which was the eye of the formation.

The furnace was about three meters tall, its purple-gold body carved with various strange beasts. Beneath it, a fierce fire burned. Around the furnace sat a group of Taoists, occasionally fanning the flames or throwing precious herbs into the furnace.

Faintly, a refreshing fragrance emanated from the furnace, soothing the heart and refreshing the mind.

If an ordinary person smelled it, even if it did not prolong life, it could at least strengthen the body and ward off all diseases.

Thus, it was clear that a batch of potent pills was being refined inside the furnace.

As the old Taoist entered the temple, a Taoist in a Bagua robe came forward to greet him. "Greetings, fellow Taoist. May I ask what brings you to our temple?"

The old Taoist took out a golden pill from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "This is a fox demon's inner core. I wish to exchange it for a bottle of pills that enhance cultivation."

The Bagua Taoist took the golden pill, examined it closely for a few moments, and slowly nodded. "Agreed."

The old Taoist's face immediately lit up with a smile.

The Bagua Taoist said, "Fellow Taoist, please follow me."

With that, he led the old Taoist into a pavilion.

Wang Bo did not follow. From their conversation, he had already guessed that this underground Taoist temple was likely a trading market.