Thirty li east of Qingxu Temple's mountain gate, there was a prosperous market town naturally formed by the gathering of temple disciples and traveling merchants, named "Clear Stream Town." This place was originally an ordinary market selling low-grade pills, talismans, and materials for low-level disciples and rogue cultivators. However, as Qingxu Temple's prestige grew and ten thousand sects paid homage, Clear Stream Town also rose with the tide, expanding several times in scale, with shops lining the streets and people weaving through like fabric, becoming an emerging commercial center of the cultivation world.
At the busiest intersection in Clear Stream Town, a very special shop had recently opened, named—"Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
The storefront of "Myriad Treasures Pavilion" was not the most imposing, but its design was very peculiar—not in the traditional pavilion style, but more like an enlarged... rabbit hole constructed from some warm white jade and crystal glass? The plaque hanging at the entrance was not the usual black background with gold characters, but a naturally formed strange gemstone suffused with seven-colored flowing light, on which the three large characters "Myriad Treasures Pavilion" were engraved in some cute claw-print-like font. In one corner of the plaque hung a small basket woven from fine vines, containing several glittering spirit grasses, swaying gently in the breeze.
The shop's owner was even more jaw-dropping—not some immortal-looking elderly Daoist, nor a shrewd merchant, but a... rabbit.
A snow-white, fluffy rabbit with ears longer than ordinary rabbits, ruby-like eyes darting around with full cleverness—a rabbit spirit! It stood on its hind legs, wearing a slightly comical miniature vest embroidered with gold and silver threads full of ingot and copper coin patterns.
This was naturally the rabbit spirit who had followed Tang Xiaoqi all the way from Qingxu Temple's kitchen to the demonic nest's core, rendering meritorious service and possessing mysterious treasure-seeking talent!
At this moment, the rabbit spirit was standing on a specially made high stool at the shop entrance, its two front paws crossed over its chest (if that counted as a chest), looking at the long line of people waiting expectantly, its red eyes full of pride and shrewdness. Beside it stood several outer disciples sent by senior brother Mu Qingfeng to help maintain order and record transactions, each with odd expressions on their faces, wanting to laugh but not daring to.
"Next!" The rabbit spirit cleared its throat, emitting a somewhat shrill yet powerful voice. Its spiritual intelligence was now fully awakened, and with the pills Xiao Qi occasionally bestowed and heavenly materials and earthly treasures it had somehow obtained on its own, its cultivation steadily improved, and it could already speak human language.
A plainly dressed man who appeared to be a rogue cultivator hurried forward, carefully pulling out a black, mud-covered ore from his bosom, smiling apologetically: "Rab... Shopkeeper Rabbit, please take a look. I dug this up deep in Sunset Mountain. It feels a bit heavy—do you think it's worth some spirit stones?"
The rabbit spirit just moved its nose close to sniff, a trace of disdain flashing in its red eyes as it waved a paw: "Low-grade black obsidian iron, too many impurities, thin spiritual energy, worth at most three low-grade spirit stones. Take it or leave it!"
The man's face fell, seeming somewhat unwilling, but seeing the rabbit spirit's confident manner and the threatening glares of the Qingxu Temple disciples nearby, he ultimately took the three spirit stones with embarrassment and left, muttering.
"Next!" The rabbit spirit continued calling.
This time a female disciple from a small sect came up, holding a jade box. After opening it, inside was a seven-leaf small herb brimming with spiritual energy. "Shopkeeper Rabbit, this is a fifty-year Condensing Dew Herb, please take a look..."
The rabbit spirit's eyes brightened. It leaned close to examine carefully, even extending a paw to gently touch the dew on the leaf, and nodded: "Mm, well-preserved, abundant spiritual energy, sufficient years. Fifty low-grade spirit stones, or equivalent exchange in pills or materials."
A look of joy appeared on the female disciple's face—clearly this price was fair, even slightly above market rate. She hurriedly nodded in agreement.
The rabbit spirit waved a paw, and the disciple responsible for recording immediately noted it down, while another disciple brought out the spirit stones. The entire process was crisp and efficient.
This was the daily routine of "Myriad Treasures Pavilion." With its innate, almost instinctive talent for treasure-seeking and identification, the rabbit spirit could accurately judge the type, age, quality, and value of any strange thing—whether ores, spirit herbs, monster materials, or damaged magical artifacts and ancient jade tablets—just by looking, sniffing, or even touching. It almost never made a mistake!
At first, some people doubted what discernment a rabbit could have, bringing broken items in a teasing spirit, only to be exposed without mercy and dismissed at low prices by the rabbit spirit. Others tried to pass off inferior goods as superior using sophisticated illusions or disguises, but before the rabbit spirit's red eyes that seemed to see through to the essence, every one was revealed in their true form.
Over time, the reputation spread: "Myriad Treasures Pavilion's Shopkeeper Rabbit has sharp eyes, fair to all." Plus, with Tang Xiaoqi and Qingxu Temple looming behind it as a great backer (though Xiao Qi had not publicly stated anything, the very fact that the rabbit spirit could open a shop here said a lot), no one dared to cause trouble. Thus, whether wanting to sell idle items or hoping to find rare treasures, people were willing to try their luck at this "Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
The rabbit spirit's business grew increasingly prosperous. It not only bought but also sold. It had somehow obtained (mostly through its talent for searching, or using earned spirit stones to purchase) many strange yet valuable treasures. There were "Spirit-Gathering Flower Pots" that automatically gathered spiritual energy, damaged array disks with lost ancient runes carved on them, "Clear Heart Radishes" that when eaten could temporarily enhance divine consciousness sensitivity, and even bronze fragments covered in rust yet faintly radiating extraordinary fluctuations that it had dug up from some ancient cultivator's meditation site...
These things might not be very useful to high-level cultivators, but for middle and low-level cultivators, they were often unique items that could come in handy at critical moments. And the rabbit spirit priced things flexibly, supporting barter, so business naturally boomed.
On this day, Tang Xiaoqi, rarely free, quietly came to Clear Stream Town to see what the rabbit spirit had made of this "Myriad Treasures Pavilion." He concealed his aura, mixing into the crowd like an ordinary visitor.
Inside the shop, goods were categorized and displayed on shelves, dazzling the eyes. The rabbit spirit stood on a high counter, enthusiastically promoting to several customers a "Clear Sound Shell" that could emit pleasant ringing sounds and was said to have calming effects:
"...Come look, come see! East Sea specialty, hundred-year Clear Sound Shell! Keep it beside you during cultivation, inner demons won't disturb, risk of cultivation deviation reduced by thirty percent! Only nine hundred ninety-eight, take home a calming treasure!"
That exaggerated tone, that skilled sales pitch made Xiao Qi's mouth twitch slightly. He couldn't help but send a divine consciousness message: "Where did you learn all this?"
The rabbit spirit's ears perked up, its red eyes instantly locking onto Xiao Qi in the crowd, flashing with surprise, then pretending not to see him, continuing its sales pitch while simultaneously responding via divine consciousness: "Hehe, learned from those mortal merchants at the foot of the mountain! How about it? Pretty convincing, right? Our Myriad Treasures Pavilion is making spirit stones by the bucketload now! If your Qingxu Temple is short on spirit stones in the future, just say the word!"
Xiao Qi shook his head helplessly, watching its self-satisfied little appearance, yet feeling somewhat amused in his heart. This rabbit spirit, though greedy for treasures and sometimes flighty, was not bad at heart, and this business sense and treasure-seeking talent were truly unique. That it could find its own joy and way of life was also a good thing.
He didn't disturb the rabbit spirit's business and quietly left. Behind him were the rabbit spirit's increasingly loud hawking and the bustling scene inside the shop.
"Myriad Treasures Pavilion" and its Shopkeeper Rabbit had already become a unique sight below Qingxu Temple, and a widely circulated amusing story in the cultivation world. No one could have imagined that the little fellow who once stole spirit plants from Qingxu Temple's kitchen had now become a "business genius" famous throughout the region. And that special bond between it and Tang Xiaoqi continued in this noisy marketplace in another form.